The Fur Animals of Louisiana 



161 



L AK£ 

 MA UPEPAS 



The dotted areas show the location of colonies of beavers in Louisiana along 

 the Comite and Amite Rivers in the four parishes of East heliciana, St. Helena, East 

 Baton Rouge and Livingston. 



animal cuts or "rings" the tree by cutting off chips, and 

 the bark is usually eaten from the chips before they fall. 

 It is believed that an adult beaver can fell a poplar tree 

 3 to 4 inches in diameter, cut it into sections from 4 to 8 

 feet, each, and drag it to water, and that it takes several 

 nights' work to cut down a larger tree. 



While he was under the impression that beavers did not 

 attack pines, Vernon Bailey was shown a number of yellow 

 pine trees that these animals had "barked" and cut down 

 along the Amite river in Louisiana. These animals had 

 also fed on wild blackberry vines, as well as a variety of 

 hardwoods, and several members of the colony had made 

 excursions to nearby cultivated corn fields, in proof of which 

 we found stalks entwined among the sticks and branches 

 that formed the dam. 



