Beavers use Lodge to defeat Sloths

Beavers were once a rare sight in Bathampton, but in recent years they have been making regular appearances, endearing themselves to all with their entertaining antics. Last night a whole family of Beavers was spotted on the Bathampton pitches, diving around and making lots of noise – they are clearly becoming much more confident. Willow is known to be a favourite for these furry, slightly rotund mammals, which might explain this mass invasion.

The pitch however is the summer feeding ground of the highly seasonal and largely nocturnal Bathampton Sloth, and so a family of Beavers was not going to cavort without being challenged – a territorial scrap was inevitable!

These two mammal species have very different survival strategies. Whilst the Beaver may have very poor sight, which can restrict their ability to see fast moving projectiles, their family bond is strong and their ability to use the tail for some powerful slapping can be used to great effect. The Sloth on the other hand relies largely on the absolute minimisation of energy expenditure, avoiding any unnecessary movement. Neither species relies upon aggression.

As we arrived with our cameras, two Beavers had already procured some willow but had been surrounded by a pack of Sloths. The Sloths, perhaps aware of the poor eyesight of Castor castor, had decided to subject the two unfortunate Beavers to a barrage of relatively fast moving projectiles. Occasionally a Beaver would be struck, and another would have to take its place in the fray. The dominant male thrashed about with some vigour, trying to assert his position in the family group, and succeeded to a certain extent. One beaver was baffled by some Porridge, another by some fresh meat, and quite a few went mad when they saw an Ant on the pitch. Beavers are known for leaving stumps behind and this happened on more than one occasion, the Sloths pushing home their advantage by knocking the stumps over.

Just as the Sloths looked to be taking control of the fight, the Beavers tail slapped hard and rounded off the initial engagement with some momentum, if not a stronghold.

Behavioural learning intra-species is a little understood phenomenon, but was in evidence as the roles were reversed. The Beavers starting throwing things at the Sloths, who immediately bared their Gnashers and Cox to great effect. After some vigorous and sometimes violent infractions, Gnashers were withdrawn, and Cox’ ball was cupped by an enterprising Beaver to spark a new phase in the fight. The Beaver with the gloves on was vocal in its exhortations, and efforts were redoubled. Two taller sloths entered the fray, and used elegance, timing, and the mysterious art of Bradypussian telepathy to completely baffle all who were involved. This often ended up with 2 sloths in the same end of the pitch, or racing each other towards the same stump. This is behaviour never before seen on camera, and as yet, we have no understanding as to what evolutionary benefit it brings to anyone.

Meanwhile, the Sloths in the wings seemed to be struggling with some sort of mass hysteria whilst watching this seemingly odd tactic work effectively – the Beavers slung the projectile about seemingly at random, and to little effect. One sloth on the sideline, a particularly bad looking one, seemed to be trying to use some rudimentary form of scripture to record proceedings, although it seemed that the ambition was perhaps not matched by the skillset, and the animal could be seen exhibiting high levels of stress-response when provoked by its fellow onlookers.

As the light faded and both Sloth and Beaver tired, the fight reached a hard fought and very close conclusion. The tall Sloths retired from the melee, another with a particularly high release point got stuck in. It was during the death throes when the Sloths had gained the upper hand and victory was imminent, that the Beavers found crucial refuge in the form of a Lodge. Typically used for shelter and the rearing of young, a Lodge is essential to the survival hopes of any Beaver, and so it proved. Recalcitrant in the face of a storm of abuse from the Sloths, the Lodge stood firm, and protected the Beavers from at least one projectile. HRP finished with one mighty blow, but it was just short of what was required.

Delighted Beavers and bloodied but unbowed Sloths then ceased hostilities and shared some fermented fruit that was lying around. The observers wondered whether they were witnessing a strange, and possibly novel twist in the race for survival. Could this be the start of a new form of natural selection, as different species with very meagre physical and mental capabilities adapt and survive by joining forces? Fuck knows, but it was pure entertainment!

Chris P Bacon, Natural History Unit