yesterday..
State: Beaver must die 12.20.07
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Felix Adamo
The bike path beaver's days are numbered.
State wildlife officials have issued a permit to kill the rodent that's chewed down nine trees on the Kern River bike path near the Park at River Walk.
Officials with the California Department of Fish and Game said beavers aren't relocated because the animal's instinct is to control water. If moved, the beaver could dam up an irrigation canal or take down trees elsewhere, said local Fish and Game biologist Bill Asserson.
"It's taking a problem from one place and relocating the problem, which is not in the best interest of everyone in general," Asserson said. "It's not a winning situation but a hard fact of nature and its conflict with residential, ornamental and agriculture endeavors."
In general, the method for killing a beaver is to set an underwater trap in which the beaver eventually drowns, said Harry Morse, a Fish and Game spokesman.
The beaver may also be trapped above water and then euthanized. The form of euthanasia is left up to the trapper, Morse said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services will carry out destroying the beaver.