To add a few tidbits to Richard Rowlett's post on the Aplodontia: it's
considered remarkable not just because its present range is so limited, but
because its *fossil* range is similarly limited, suggesting that it evolved
in the pretty much exclusively in the coastal zone of the PNW. The theory
put forward to explain this in a paper I read quite a few years ago (sorry,
I don't have the ref. handy, but I don't think it was by Kelly) links the
Aplodontia's range to the fact that its primitive kidney (as rodents go,
Aplodontia is an Eocene left-over) produces a very diluted urine, unlike the
concentrated urine of modern rodents, so that it can only survive in a
climate that is comparatively wet in the summer and doesn't freeze hard in
the winter. The N. California population, by the way, is on the CA
endangered species list. Another source suggested that Aplodontia keeps its
stored provisions -- roots for the most part -- fresh in its burrow by
planting them so that they continue to grow for a while.

I had my own up-close-and-personal encounter with an Aplodontia when I lived
near Lk. Sammamish. Driving to work one morning, I found a juvenile A.
trying to do the 'possum trick on the road. I got out of the car and
ushered it back into the hedge. As I drove on, I looked in the rear-view
mirror and saw it come straight out and repeat the performance, with cars
honking and swerving. It seemed 'confused', just like the one in Richard's
window-well. Three tries later, I scooped it up, took it home and stuck it
in an empty rabbit cage till I got back from work. Probably not the 'right'
thing to do, but I kept it for a few weeks until it was out of its baby-fur
(grey rather than the adult's reddish-brown), then released it in a part of
Marymoor Park where I'd seen signs of Aplodontia. I read everything on
Aplodontia I could lay my hands on, including some unpublished UW research,
and found there was very little. In the mean time, it ate lettuces and
other leafy vegetables the way kids pop M&Ms, grew pretty tame (though I was
trying not to let it get that way), and only bit me once, on a knuckle -- an
experience I wouldn't recommend to the curious, it was about what a
carpenter could do to your knuckle with a 1/4" chisel.

A post from Kelly would be good.

James West

----- Original Message -----
From: <Pterodroma at aol.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 25, 1999 12:27 PM
Subject: So, what the heck is an Aplodontia?


Several 'tweets' replied privately with that question yesterday.

For any we't sider in the Pacific Northwest, this is one mammal you should
at
least get to know if not appreciate for it is exclusive and endemic to the
Pacific Northwest and Cascades west from northern California to southern
British Columbia. It is also the only species representative of the unique
rodent order of mammals known as Aplodontiidae and goes by the common name
"Aplodontia" or "Mountain Beaver" (_Aplondontia rufa_). Adults may reach
12-17 inches in total length, or about the size of a small chunky house cat.
It looks like a tailless Muskrat with little beady black eyes and small
rounded ears. According to the Peterson Field Guide to Mammals, "it is
mostly active at night and makes extensive tunnels, runways, and burrows
beneath dense streamside vegetation." Peterson goes on to read: "In the
wild
areas the Aplodontia is of little importance, but it can be a nuisance in
reforestation projects; also, it may raid truck gardens and cause general
damage by its persistent burrowing. Meat is strong and the hide is
worthless. It is an interesting element in the biological world, probably
its only asset".

Well! This last part isn't very nice and sounds a bit understated doesn't
it. Kevin Li mentioned that Kelly McAllister, one of our regularly
contributing members of the 'Tweeters' family, has written a paper on the
Aplodontia in Washington. So Kelly, if you're lurking about, maybe you'd
care to chime in. I would be interested in locating the paper at the very
least. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to tell someone to go in search of
the reclusive Aplodontia / Mountain Beaver. Their sign is left all around
in
many places around here. One site that comes to mind is the eastern most
soccer field at Lake Sammamish State Park (adjacent to the little pine grove
that was home for the Long-eared Owl two years ago). In the winter, there
are telltale mounds of dirt all over the field which in itself adds a new
dimension and challenge for all those little kids out there playing the game
of soccer.

---------------------------------------------------------
Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA