You Knew It Was Coming - the Beaver Sink or Float Poll! :-)

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

See poll. Consider poll. If you've shot the rodents before, vote in poll.

Due to the great diversity of answers in the prior thread, we need to try to settle this question once and for all, for the sake of mankind's survival!

 

[wyohome]

If they are dead, they float.

 

[X-Rap]

^^^^+1

 

[janobles14]

total sinkage. im sure they would float back up eventually but we just fish them out and crock pot the fool out of them!

 

[zombienerd]

I've shot two... They floated. Must have been the amount of fat on them, they were chubby little suckers.

I'd imagine that seeing some people say they sink, it must have to do with the fat percentage on em

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Glad to see this poll doc. Since I can only speak for the ones I have shot (less than 100 but more than 50) they ALL sank. I can't argue against other's experiences and they can't argue against mine so a poll wont settle the question BUT it will be fun! Disclaimer: all beaver in the above were adults,kits float no matter what.

 

[AKElroy]

I voted "I have no idea"; a knowledge gap I hope to resolve with your poll. I view this topic to be one of the great mysteries of life; up there with the age of the universe & the mechanics of gravitational time dialation.

You are doing a great service, kind sir.

 

[X-Rap]

It may indeed be geographic. Mine have been in Iowa and Minnesota during prime fur time so the fat level would be higher. How about the rest of you?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Fat content may very well figure into it as has been mentioned. I trapped beaver in the winter but only shot them during summer. Our weather isn't typically very cold during the winter months and downright sweltering during the summer. Our winter beaver do have a lot of fat but probably less than northern or western beaver do and practically none during summer. As they say in the FBI "that may be a clue".

 

[Flintknapper]

My "control" group is very small (about a dozen Beav's, all in Texas), but ALL sank like a rock.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

If the water is frozen.........never mind.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

"frozen water"......what's that? I haven't seen ponds frozen over here since I was a kid.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

We dont have any ponds here or they would have been frozen a while back.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

No ponds? None?

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Not like it was when i was a kid belly crawling to ponds. Very few and far between now. I miss those days.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I've seen them do both.

 

[chuckusaret]

I have never had any experience with that type of beaver in this part of the states. We are having a problem with bears, gators, and very large snakes.