74 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



Although described from the northeastern (or "upper") 

 peninsula of Michigan, between Lake Superior and Lake 

 Michigan, the range of this race is believed to include much of 

 the "Lower Peninsula," now or in the recent past. While at 

 the present time beavers are regarded as extinct in southern 

 Michigan, they still occur locally in northern parts of the State. 

 According to Dice, they were found up to about 1920 along 

 Boyne River in Charlevoix County but are now rare or extinct 

 there except that beavers have been reintroduced on Spring 

 Branch. In the neighboring counties, Cheboygan and Mont- 

 morency of the Lower Peninsula, they are scarce but seem to 

 be increasing. Presumably intergradation of this race with 

 neighboring races takes place in Wisconsin or to the northward, 

 but the exact limits of the range of this form remain to be 

 worked out. 



Because of the rich dark color of its fur, this race of beaver is 

 especially recommended by Vernon Bailey for introduction 

 into other and now depleted localities. It has been much used 

 in restocking areas in Michigan that seemed suitable, and Ruhl 

 and Lovejoy (1930) have published a summary of such intro- 

 ductions carried out in various counties in southwestern, 

 central, and northern parts of the Lower Peninsula in recent 

 years. In most cases only one or two animals at a time were 

 available for this purpose, yet these authors conclude that 

 "there seems to be no difficulty in getting beaver to settle and 

 winter even if planted as late as November 1," but there is no 

 assurance that they will remain in any particular locality nor 

 was the number necessary for efficient colonization determined. 

 Where large streams are available, these introduced beavers 

 were found usually to make burrows in banks rather than to 

 construct lodges. According to Vernon Bailey (1922), choice 

 skins of this dark form from northern Wisconsin have in recent 

 years brought as much as $50 each. He writes further: "So 

 far as at present known, the darkest, richest-colored, and 

 handsomest beaver fur is found native along the south shore of 

 Lake Superior, in northern Michigan and Wisconsin [and is of 

 the race here under discussion] . In this region of heavy forest 

 and deep snows the outer hairs of the animals are very dark 

 brown and the under fur is almost black. When tanned and 

 plucked the skins are very beautiful, and when made up into 

 wearing apparel they almost equal sea otter in depth of fur 



