Instant Happiness: Watch These Beavers Frolic in the Hudson Valley
Having a bad day? Sometimes you just need to watch some adorable animals be adorable. My wife and I recently found a little hack when we got our puppy Arthur, since literally everything he does seems to break the cuteness meter, but if you're at work, like I am, and need an instant dose of serotonin, allow me to humbly present two beavers frolicking in an Orange County lake. Each photo will also be accompanied by a Beaver Fun Fact, like the weird truth that their butt smells like vanilla. Let's start with the hug:
I mean come ON! If that doesn't melt your heart even a little, I would invite you to return to your home that you share with the Grinch on top of Mount Crumpit. And back to their vanilla-scented-rear ends: beavers secrete castoreum from castor sacs, riiiight near their butts. They use it to mark their territory. We sometimes use it to flavor food. Speaking of food (bad segue, sorry), these beavers made time for a snack break.
Just in case you think that photo isn't cute enough (agreed, it's no hugging photo), photographer Amy Comerford was kind enough to zoom in for us.
Look at its little beaver hands! Although honestly if those are claws, which they certainly look like they are, I'm perfectly fine observing these rotund rodents from a distance. Speaking of observing, one Facebook user commented that even though she lives in the area and frequently sees evidence of beavers, she had never seen a tree-chomper in the flesh before. The scientific reason why she hadn't surprised me (and it's our next Beaver Fun Fact).
Apparently, beavers are mostly nocturnal, and only on special occasions will they hang out while the sun is shining. Another commenter mentioned that he would often hear beavers before he saw them in Harriman park, noting that their signature tail-slap of the water sounds like a gunshot to the uninitiated. Beavers do this to warn others of danger, or in this case, the approach of a curious canoe.
Now if you thought these beavers were cute, what about BABY beavers?! They turn the "aww" meter up to eleven. Check them out below.
Rescued Adirondack Baby Beavers Bring Cuteness Overload
11 Stunning Photos of the Hudson Valley in the Winter