CHAPTER V 
CAN THE BEAVER BE SAVED? 
Herz, too, may be considered the beaver, with 
reference to the possibility of preserving it 
from extinction, and cultivating it for fur. In 
most of our states and provinces this animal 
is more or less under legal protection, and 
scattered colonies flourish throughout the moun- 
tainous parts of the West, while several zoolog- 
ical parks and some private estates have 
colonies. These thrive, and increase so fast 
that from time to time it is necessary to thin 
out the band. A newspaper reports that about 
100 were in this way culled out of the colony 
in Algonkin Park, a national reserve in north- 
ern Ontario, during 1909. 
It would seem entirely feasible, then, for any- 
one having a favorable place on his estate to 
rear beavers. A swampy valley is usually of 
little usefulness otherwise. The cost of con- 
fining and protecting the colony would, how- 
94 
