Why did the beaver want to cross the road was the question of the day in downtown Campbell River Wednesday afternoon.
“A customer came in the store and said, ‘Oh my God, there’s a beaver outside,’” Tyee Marine employee Kerry Amos told the Mirror.
After momentarily awaiting a punch line or some sort of joke, store employees piled out onto the sidewalk.
“There was a poor beaver crossing the street,” Amos said.
It was about 5 p.m. and rush hour was in full swing in front of the landmark marine and fishing supply store on Pier Street. Traffic stopped and people scrambled to help the sopping wet rodent. It appeared he or she had just come up from the water of Discovery Passage and was heading inland.
The beaver wandered around trying to get into buildings and didn’t appear panicked, Amos said. Another passerby, Stewart Carstairs attempted to capture it by putting a cardboard box over it.
It was the beaver’s lucky day, though.
“It happened that we had a live trap in the store,” Amos said.
After a couple of attempts, Amos and another employee, Graham Appleton, got the beaver into the trap and the RCMP were called. Mounties arrived along with Conservation officer Gord Gudbranson who took possession of the animal and delivered it to the Quinsam River.
Speculation is that because this was a young beaver, he may have been given the boot by his momma and sent off to make his own way in the world. Whatever the reason, he made his way to saltwater and to the Discovery Pier area.
Although it’s a harsh life in the wild, this beaver appeared to have fallen into some good fortune by turning up in front of an outdoors store.
“It worked out good that he was where he was because we had the proper sort of equipment to help him,” Amos said.
And lots of concerned people on the busy street scene were there to pitch in and help the poor animal, she added.