Friday, February 1, 2013

Only in Vermont: Beaver Surfs Ice Jam

We had a big warm spell here in Vermont the other day. Temperatures soared into the upper 50s, setting some record highs, melting what little snow we had and breaking up the ice on the rivers.

The ice jams can be bad, because water sometimes backs up behind the jams and causes flooding.

One ice jam formed yesterday in Montpelier. About 20 years ago, an ice jam formed there and badly flooded the entire downtown of the city. Ever since, whenever an ice jam forms in Montpelier, people pay attention.  People go down and watch the river for signs of an impending flood.

Luckily, yesterday's ice jam broke apart, and a big rush of ice chunks flowed downstream, away from Montpelier. Vermont's capital city remains high and dry.

Keith Vance was one of the people watching the river, and witnessing the ice start to flow. He captured this fun sight: A beaver riding the chunks of ice downstream.

I hope the beaver is OK. The poor thing could have been crushed to death between the big chunks of ice. But I prefer to think he just had a fun ride, and is still laughing to himself about the adventure  he had yesterday.

Here's the fun video:


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