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The Beaver Comeback
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For about 150 years, Massachusetts had no beavers at all.
Then in 1928, a few wandered in from New York. Three more were set free in Lenox in 1932.
The state's last estimate: about 70,000.
And right now, they're stocking up for winter.
They sink branches into the mud at the bottom of the pond.
When the pond freezes over, they're locked under the ice until spring.
So they swim out under the ice and eat from their pantry.
Look for pointy, chewed stumps by a pond. Beavers were here.
Look for pencil points.
Chewed, pointy stumps near a pond or stream mean beavers. It is illegal to disturb a dam or lodge, so look and leave it.
Data: MassWildlife, Mass Audubon, and UMass Extension.