Found a Beaver or Porcupine?

Central Oregon Beavers and Porcupines

Beavers and Porcupines are large rodents native to Oregon. 

DO NOT handle a beaver or porcupine unless instructed to do so by a licensed rehabilitator. 

Orphaned beavers and porcupines should be reunited with parents as soon as possible. 

Injured beavers and porcupines should be contained and brought to Think Wild for care. 

DO NOT offer food or water to injured or orphaned animals! 

Below are tips for what to do if you find a porcupine or beaver.

Orphaned Beaver or Porcupine

  • If baby beaver or porcupine IS NOT injured...
    • Parents are likely in the area
    • Do not approach or disturb the animal
    • DO NOT offer food or water
    • Take a photo from a distance if safe to do so
    • Check back in the morning
    • Contact Think Wild at 8 am - (541) 241-8680

 

  • If baby beaver or porcupine IS INJURED (obvious blood or broken limb)
    • Wear heavy gloves - do not handle beavers or porcupines with bare hands
    • Gently usher animal into box or crate with a broom or branch
    • Contain animal in a in a well-ventilated box or crate lined with a towel or blanket
    • Provide heat via microwaved sock filled with rice - wrap in a towel
    • Keep animal in a dark, quiet location away from humans and pets
    • Contact Think Wild at 8 am - (541) 241-8680

Injured Beaver or Porcupine

Signs a beaver or porcupine needs care: 

  • Visible wounds, blood, or debris on the animal
  • Very heavy or very shallow breathing
  • Vomiting or diarrhea 
  • Neurologic symptoms: balance issues, walking in circles, head tic, etc.
  • Shaking
  • Visibly emaciated (bones visible beneath loose skin)
  • Crusty eyes or nasal discharge
  • Entanglement in barbed wire, garden netting, fencing, etc.
  • Caught by a predator or domestic animal

 

If you find an injured beaver or porcupine

  • At night or outside of hotline operating hours…
    • Wear heavy gloves - do not handle beavers or porcupines with bare hands
    • Capture with a live trap, large box, or dog crate
    • Gently usher animal into box or crate with a broom or branch
    • Keep in a dark, quiet location away from humans and pets
    • If animal is too alert to capture, please monitor until Think Wild operating hours
    • Contact Think Wild at 8 am - (541) 241-8680
  • During the day… 
    • Contact Think Wild immediately - (541) 241-8680
    • Monitor the animal's condition and behavior from at least 25 feet away
    • Take photos and videos if possible
    • Contain the animal if instructed to do so, or stay in the area until Think Wild team arrives

Please contact the wildlife hotline ASAP if you find an injured beaver or porcupine - (541) 241-8680

Conflicts with Beavers or Porcupines?

Eating, Damaging, or Felling Trees

  • Install fencing to protect trees
  • Paint tree trunks with sand paint to make chewing unpleasant 
  • Add vegetation buffer zones that ‘make the right thing easy, and the wrong thing hard’
  • Utilize landscape trees distasteful to beaver

Flood Risks

  • Install a ‘water flow device’ to allow water to pass ‘through’ the beaver dam, keeping water levels at acceptable heights to prevent flooding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Infrastructure Conflicts

  • Prevent culvert blockage and backed up flows with beaver exclusion fencing

 

Need Help? Contact our Beaver Works Oregon team!