MAMMALS OF UTAH 61, 



Family CASTORIDAE. Beavers 



SONORAN BEAVER: BROAD-TAILED 

 BEAVER 



CASTOR CANADENSIS FRONDATOR (Mearns) 



Castor Canadensis Frondator, Mearns, Pros. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 .1897, p. 502. 



Description — Above, dark red brown, bright and glossy 

 in certain lights, under fur dusky black; sides and head 

 paler ; upper surfaces of feet chocolate ; underparts simi- 

 lar, but a somewhat lighter shade. Total length, 41.5; 

 tail vert., 14.0; hind foot, 7.2; scaly portion of tail, 11.3x4.8. 



Distribution — The beaver was undoubtedly at one time 

 very common in the State of Utah. Mr. George B. Hancock 

 informs me that many old dams now exist on Hunt Creek, 

 a branch on the east fork of the Sevier River, Garfield 

 county. A few are still to be found, according to B .E. Matts- 

 son, in Fish and Huntington creeks, Manti forest. J. W. 

 Humphrey of Panguitch says : "The beaver under the pro- 

 tection afforded them by the state have become so numer- 

 ous on the headwaters of the Sevier river that they are some- 

 what of a nuisance and do considerable damage along the 

 canals." E. C. Shepard says that there are a few in Logan 

 canyon. William M. Anderson of Vernal informs me : "Bea- 

 ver are very plentiful. There are thousands of them on the 

 streams. To such an extent are they increasing that it has 

 become necessary to trap them out in some instances." 

 Though many streams of the Fishlake forest are named after 

 the beaver, none exist there now according to C. A. Matts- 

 son. George H. Barney of Escalante reports that there are 

 a few on North Coyote, Mamie, and Boulder creeks in the 

 Escalante forest. There are three colonies, the remainder 

 being individuals. A. W. Jensen of Provo estimates that 

 there are 400 beavers in the Uintah forest district. 



Mr. F. A. Wrathall- informs me that he has seen the 

 fresh workings of the beaver in nearly all of the streams of 

 the Wasatch mountains and that the animals are very com- 

 mon in Gooseberry Creek at the head of the Weber river. 

 They are also reported as building a dam at Upper Falls in 

 Provo canyon where thousands of fishermen visit in the 

 summer. 



S. B. Locke says that beavers occur along LaSal creek 

 and tributaries on the east side of the LaSal mountains 

 into Colorado. They there interfere to some extent with 

 irrigation works. 



