Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-12-09
ZOOS BEAVERS move;
FITTING WELL PLANNED
Old scroogs, Head OF Clan,
Sent Out Prospectors and
Surveyors First.

old ksioorc, veteran head OF the
hra>,r elan la the geological Park In
the nronN. has led his followers to a
n,w hun's aito and tor weeks the pond
where this numerous colony lives has
been the scene of great activity tsays
Tho New York Timcs). Being
hUne builders par excellence the beav-
cra have uat completed what Ray
mond l.. pltfnars. Curator of Reptiles.
halls 40 the best -huilt apartment house
ln nvo horourhs. II II not the new
homo that has occasioncd remarks
from the mcn whose business u Is To
care Cor the clty's geological collection,
bat they are spcculatlng ON the rea-
SIMS that caused this new and wholly
unexpected move on the part OF the
colony
Tho beavers lest perfectly good
home The old house had been occupied
for several years. lts hranch-covered
top stood out above the surface OF the
pond at the cdge Of the shore. Old
Hcinuno had suporintondcd its con
struciion. IA the beaver colony had In
creased IN numbers additions were
added % tho south and east unth the
struvturo appeared a small-si2cd island
with n foliage ut high weeds. The ami
mails appeared Co he perfectly satisfied
with their homo ana, the keepers said,
there WAS no good reason why there
should ho a housing problem for the
colony 90 solve The unexpected move
was considered of such Importance
that u has been noted IN the Hoologi-
cat Sucloty nullctin.
Animal men noticed some months
Ago. that Scroopc was making frequent
inspection of tho pond, lie would leave
hls home m the early moring and
nEhn IN the late afternoon and slowly
clrplp about and make excursions in
shore,
wrhnt old follow has something on
hia mind" commented Mr.. nitmars
after watching the veteran ON his tour
uf inspection, 80 he had, hut II was not
pntn snmo weeks later when old
HcWoge took uut his surveying par
"a thnt HIS object was discovered.
when the men In tho park know that
tho colony was contemplating move.
she old beaver and his engineer"
rnmn in fur great attention. Conver-
nntlunn like this went on every day:
"iinNo the beavers moved YETI"
hvvpera from the other end OF tho park
would ask.
reply until day when word went
atnund that building operations had
really begun.
A preliminary 90 selecting a home
nitc the beavers dug tunnels into the
Shore az intervals all about the pond.
AppnrcntlV they were sinking shafts
o. determine the hest place for a home.
FhoV found what they wanted and one
A a.. ~. a.
concentrated ON one " these tunnels
nnd tho work of home building was
un
Mr. pitmars h authority for the
statement that undcr old Scrooge's =
supervision the beavers worked I'm
HhNis a morning and an afternoon
shift The site for the new home was
across tho pond from the old home
and the beavers uscdto swim over In
ranra. ono of the old men at the pond
VonndCd tu Mr.. pi,mars that every
dnN the female beavers took over
lunch to the workers.
sure" he said. II seen them"
in tcllinE tHc story yesterday Nh
nlimara said that the old keepers
statement could hc used at your own
risk No nftdayits went with a.. BE
that aa % may, he added. the entire
Vulnny appeared Co ho busy house
hulldlnp The hcascrs. large and small
worked with surprislns industry al
ua, untn the new home was construct.
ed tndvr old Scroogo's urging ther,
were no union rules on that sob and
tho ulsht hour day was unanimously
Discarded.
Tho nrst step IN house building was
The digHinR of a tunnel from the ede,
of the hank Just below the water
.dNe 81 point ten feet inshore. Their,
A. umerrcd and az that point the little
animals dup out circular gallery. ful
uf water from the tunnel. Leaving
enough uf the ground above 10 form q
generous livine platform above water
they then began extensive activities IN
gathering brush. sticks and mud
While somc dur galleries extending
outward from the centre Of the hous'
others continued the work on top un
so the familiar dome-like house ros,
over the sklllfuily planned foundation
The old house now deserted. is grad
ually stalking and disintcgrating. show
ina that n beaver homo needs constan
attention from these animal engineer
~ q " o. remain In habitahle condi
ilom The only reason thPt the 200
inricei experts can give Tor the deser
iion ui this home h that a small tire
had bugua 90 develop upon a..
an tho beavers appeared 70 be ex
cited when the now homo was done
Me pltmars heard about a.. and h.
asked the oldest keeper that the trou
Ne wna.
House warming" said the late
briefly.
lNrrN dAN sumenne VIII lose some