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January 3, 2009

Kids explore world of beavers

By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

Travis Garren, of Webb City, didn’t expect to spend Saturday morning dressed as a beaver. But he did, to help entertain and educate kids during the “Busy Beavers” program sponsored by Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center south of Joplin.

About 20 children between the ages of 3 and 6spent an hour listening to Chanda Regier, the center’s naturalist, explore the world of beavers.

“Do you know what a mammal is?” Regier asked the group of inquisitive children. “They have hair and they drink milk.”

Beavers are mammals and live in most places in the country, she said. They also are rodents with sharp yellow teeth.

“People have calcium in their teeth that makes them white,” Regier said. “A beaver’s teeth has iron.”

Regier explained how beavers drink milk as babies, have two kinds of fur and three eyelids for each eye.

They have curly, fuzzy hair with long hairs on top of that hair that keeps them dry in the water, Regier said.

The naturalist also explained to the children how beavers build their lodges.

“They say three or four adults can sit in a beaver’s lodge,” Regier said.

As the children touched beaver fur and a beaver tail, Regier explained how to determine the age of the animals.

“You can tell how old the beaver is by the color of his fur,” she said. “A light color is a younger beaver.”

Regier read a book about beavers to the children as they sat around her on a large rug in the center’s education room.

Later, the children colored beaver tails and cut out beaver masks to take with them.

Garren brought his 3-year- old son, Ryken, to the program. But after volunteering to dress as a beaver, he ended up wearing beaver teeth and claws.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The kids get a kick out of it.”

Garren also wore goggles to portray the beavers’ extra eyelids.

“I like to come out (to these programs),” he said. “I learn a lot, and they’re a lot of fun.”

Linda Phipps of Galena, Kan., brought her two grandchildren, Jack, 6, and Rachel, 3.

“I think it’s a great program,” she said. “It’s very age-appropriate.”

“The tail’s weird,” Jack said.

Bill Putnam of Carthage brought his grandchildren, who live in Clinton, to the center for the first time.

“This is great,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to get them down here for a long time.”

Upcoming programs at the center include a program on Missouri mammals, birds of prey and winter bird hikes.

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