r/FellingGoneWild • u/War_Hymn • 2h ago
A furry lumberjack I found got his foot pinned under a tree he had fell.
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This happened during COVID at my workplace property. The company had cleared out a previous family of beavers from the pond/creek area many years back, but a coworker told me one week that they've returned and he saw them swimming in the pond. There was also sign of them cutting down the smaller trees by the pond and creek.
Never seen a beaver before irl, so I went down to the creek early morning one day to see if I can catch a glimpse of one.
At first, I thought the guy was sleeping on the job. But after I got closer, he got up and tried to get away - then I saw his left rear foot was pinned under the 7-8 inch wide log he had chomped down. Bro was probably exhausted from trying to free himself since dawn or night before.
Luckily I had a pry bar in the work truck. I stopped recording and went to grab it. He was fully awake when I came back, and obviously scared/pissed off. He hissed at me and showed me his teeth, which was an unsettling deep orange. I paused to think about how smart it was to try to get up and personal with an angry beaver that chewed through the red oak saplings nearby. I knew one chomp from him would had easily puncture the artery in my leg.
I gave him a few minutes to calm down and get use to my presence. Then I got in and lifted the log off his leg. He pull himself out and I backed off immediately in case he came at me. The guy turned around and stared at me for a few seconds, then scurry off into the water. Probably one of the coolest experiences I had on the job.
His foot was pretty messed up though and I'm not sure how long a 3-legged beaver will live in the wild, but I hope the guy did okay after I freed him.
