Mountain Beaver

A couple weeks ago, I placed my StealthCam on a tree aimed at a burrow hole.  This was on an abandoned logging road going up a steep hill about a 20 minute walk from our house.  It was the same location where I captured the coyote pup noted in the previous post.  When I checked the camera today, there was a mystery animal that came out of the hole.  It looked like a very large guinea pig.  I searched the internet and discovered that it is a Mountain Beaver. I'd never heard of a Mountain Beaver, and apparently I was not alone.

The Mountain Beaver is a rodent, but not closely related to the much larger North American Beaver.  It has a tiny tail, and adults weigh 2 to 3 pounds.  It is termed the world's most primitive rodent and is considered a living fossil, as it is practically unchanged over its existence of some 40 to 50 million years.

The Mountain Beaver is only found in the Pacific Northwest.  It is solitary, but its tunnels and openings can cover up to a quarter acre.  It eats mainly sword and bracken ferns, tree seedlings, red alder leaves, and bark, all of which are very abundant here. It is mainly nocturnal, but in these videos, was out of its tunnels at 6:48 PM.  Mountain Beaver have never been observed mating.  I think I will locate the camera on a stake closer to the hole for a better view of this secretive creature.

This bull elk also made an appearance.

An elk cow was close behind.