In fact, it's not even a beaver … With small eyes and ears and a blunted muzzle, it resembles a tailless muskrat. Domelike beaver homes, called lodges, are also constructed of branches and mud. Reaching up to 7 mm long, there are two giant fleas that occur on mountain beavers in Oregon. the giant beaver tale of the Northeastern Algonkian as a possible prehistoric memory holding a key for archaeologists and historians alike.

Mountain Beaver are primarily a fossorial (sub-surface oriented) rodent living in burrows in and near moist riparian forest communities. It is also sometimes referred to as a Sewellel beaver, after a type of cloak that a Native American tribe made from its pelt. The mountain beaver is not related to the North American or Eurasian beaver.

These are the largest fleas (Hystrichopsylla and Dolichopsyllus) in the world!They are only found on mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa) in the Pacific Northwest.Extremely rare and hard to obtain, these amazing fleas will surely be the highlight of any insect collection. Bear right at this junction to continue to Pyramid Peak & Gothics. They are often strategically located in the middle of ponds and can only be reached by underwater entrances. Also referred to as “Aplodontia,” “Boomer,” “Ground Bear,” or “Giant Mole". Some of these rodents' most common predators include fishers, coyotes, hawks, brown and black bears, northern river otters, lynx, eagles, mountain lions, owls, wolverines and wolves.

Pyramid Peak stands at 4,550 feet, but because of it's location and closeness to Gothics, it is not considered one of the 46ers. Relatively common yet mysterious beasts, they are rarely encountered due to their subterranean existence and nocturnal dining habits. The Mountain Beaver, Aplodontia rufa, is a muskrat sized rodent of ancient lineage. Giant Mountain is challenging, but doable even for first time mountain hikers as long as they are in decent cardiovascular shape. (30.5 cm) long, grayish or brownish red in color, and nearly tailless. It’s the last living member of a once-successful family of rodents called the Aplodontiidae. The mountain beaver is about 12 in.

... Beaver Brook Tract Trail Network.

Hiking, Mountain Biking.

The tale of the giant beaver is usually related as an episode in the Gluskap cycle, Gluskap being the culture hero and transformer of most of the tribes of the Northeast. It’s a giant rodent that kind of looks like the result of a bad marriage between a mole and a rat. A mountain beaver isn’t a beaver.

The North American beaver lives in areas all over the North American continent, from the northern portion of Mexico up into Canada. Most burrow colonies are in areas with proximity to a water source, well-developed, firm soils, and abundant vegetation. Neither a beaver nor a high-mountain dweller, the sewellel is a rather singular animal. You end up at Lower Ausable Lake and split off and cross the Ausable River and continue up on the A.W Weld Trail to the saddle between Sawteeth & Pyramid Peak.

Gothics Mountain is number 10 in height on the 46ers list, standing at 4,736 feet.

Mount Arab.

Some people also refer to this rodent as a giant mole or ground bear. The sewellel is a “living fossil,” showing primitive skeletal features that other rodents have lost. 1. The best thing about Giant Mountain is that most of the hike is along a ridge line so you're getting into the gorgeous scenery early on. Sawteeth is number 35 in height on the 46ers list, standing at 4,100 feet. Its enlarged claws make it an excellent burrower, and it is also a good swimmer and tree climber. They can get to be up to a foot long, but lucky for us they only eat plants—not us. Taxonomists say they are the world’s most primitive species. The trail starts at the AMR (Ausable Club), and is relatively flat for 3.5 miles or so.