B.C. Wildlife Park takes in two young beavers found stranded in the Okanagan

A new pair of furry creatures will soon be splashing around at the B.C. Wildlife Park.

Two young beavers were found separately in the Okanagan and brought into the rehabilitation centre at the park. The first one was found five weeks ago near Vernon, and staff at the park have named him Alder. The second, Willow, was brought to the park about three weeks ago after being found alone under a bridge in the Kelowna area.

Both of the young beavers were taken to the Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre at the park, where they required bottle feeding and around-the-clock care. A post from the B.C. Wildlife Park states that Alder is now eating solid food, while Willow still needs encouragement to do so.

According to the post, it is believed the beavers may have been separated from the families due to high water levels.

Alder and Willow will remain at the park until they are eligible to be released. According to the post, rehabilitating beavers is a lengthy process and it’s expected to take around two years until they are mature enough to be released back into the wild.

According to the post, staff at the park are working on repurposing an existing structure to make a beaver pool for the pair. Alder and Willow will be moved there once they are a bit bigger and stronger.

In the meantime, you can keep an eye on the B.C. Wildlife Park’s social media to get updates on the two fluffy critters.

View this post on Instagram

Meet Alder, and Willow. These two rescued beavers were admitted to the Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre 5 and 3 weeks ago respectively. They were found separately and in different locations -Alder arrived first from the Vernon area. He was found walking down a busy road in a residential area. Willow arrived from the Kelowna area and was found alone under a bridge. Our rehabilitation team isn’t sure exactly what happened to orphan these two beavers, but it is thought that the high waters could have separated them from the rest of their family. . Upon arrival, both beavers still required around the clock care and bottle feeding. Alder is growing well and is now eating solid foods on his own; whereas Willow still requires a bit of encouragement with eating solid foods. . After careful consideration our, Rehabilitation team decided that Alder and Willow will remain in our care until they are fully rehabilitated and eligible for released. Rehabilitating beavers takes a copious amount of time, dedication, and resources. It takes 2 years until they are mature enough to released back into the wild. . Our facilities team has been working hard to repurpose an existing structure at the Park into a suitable beaver pool. Alder and Willow will be moved once they get bigger and stronger. The pair has a long road ahead of them, and we will be sure to share more of their journey as they progress. #soundon to hear Willow’s adorable sounds. . . . #beaver #rescuedanimals #wildlifepark #explorekamloops #exploreBClater #exploreBClocal #tourismkamloops #tourismbc #destinationbc #exploreokanagan #beautifulbritishcolumbia #getoutandexplore #explore #wildtimesawaityou #nonprofit #wildlife #animallovers #tourismmatters #ykastrong #roambcfromhome

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Jul 3, 2020 at 8:31am PDT

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