<![CDATA[It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver!]]>It's not exactly a sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! They're not actually beavers, but a kind of "living fossil" rodent that's found only in the . I've been been hiking for literally decades, and known about them for almost that long, but this is the first time I've actually laid eyes on one. And yes like all good photos these are blurry.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/16ab38ec-9d55-4d23-b112-cdf49513bf20/it-s-not-exactly-a-bigfoot-sighting-but-maybe-the-next-closest-thing....-i-saw-a-mountain-beaverRSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 02:49:40 GMTTue, 21 Apr 2026 03:49:49 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:33:31 GMT]]>@eugeneparnell Awesome1 And, not only did you see it, you got a photo of it. Iā€™m so jealous!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sfba.social/users/ELS/statuses/116440826641529193https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sfba.social/users/ELS/statuses/116440826641529193Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:33:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:26:10 GMT]]>@eugeneparnell Wow, I learned about a new animal today!

The name is pretty funny - it's not a beaver and it doesn't really live in the mountains. But it does have several other names (quote from Wikipedia entry):

"Other names include boomer, mountain boomer, ground bear, giant mole, gehalis, sewellel, suwellel, showhurll, showtl, and showte, as well as a number of other Native American terms."

Okay, boomer! šŸ˜

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://disabled.social/users/ahimsa_pdx/statuses/116440797699456878https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://disabled.social/users/ahimsa_pdx/statuses/116440797699456878Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:26:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:08:20 GMT]]>Here's a couple more blurry photos. It was about the size of a loaf of banana bread, too big for a rat, nearly the size of a football. The blunt head and lack of a tail are pretty definitive. You can't see in the photos but its tiny eyes gave it an expression like I'd woken it up from a nap.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/eugeneparnell/statuses/116440727560284943https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/eugeneparnell/statuses/116440727560284943Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:08:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:31 GMT]]>The funny thing is that I didn't see this mountain beaver in any of our vast wilderness areas or national parks. It was in Saltwater State Park in suburban Des Moines Washington! Looking it up online it seems my experience is typical. Although they are fairly common, almost no one ever sees mountain beavers in action. Here's a Seattle Times article with more info. https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/the-pacific-northwests-elusive-mountain-beaver/

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/eugeneparnell/statuses/116440696877695549https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/eugeneparnell/statuses/116440696877695549Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:31 GMT