'Diva' beaver, beloved since birth, allowed to stay at U.S. rescue centre

For some time, there was a question of whether a two-year-old beaver would be allowed stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby, or be released into the wild.

That question was resolved Thursday when the governor of Massachusetts stepped in to protect the beaver — named Nibi.

The state issued a permit to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue for Nibi to remain at the rehabilitation facility and serve as an educational animal.

"Nibi has captured the hearts of many of our residents, mine included," Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said Thursday. "We're excited to share that we have issued a permit for Nibi to remain in Newhouse's care, continuing to educate the public about this important species."

Nibi's fate had made it all the way to the state courts before Healey stepped in.

A judge on Tuesday had said that Nibi would be allowed to stay in her home at the rescue centre in Chelmsford, located northwest of Boston. A hearing had been set for Friday in a case filed by the rescuers against MassWildlife, the state's division of fisheries and wildlife, to stop the release.

Nibi's rescuers at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue said on their Facebook page that they were "beyond grateful" for Healey's decision.

Nibi has been a hit on the rescue group's social media since she was a baby, and posts about her impending release garnered thousands of comments.

An online petition to save Nibi from being released into the wild has received over 25,000 signatures, lawmakers have weighed in, and earlier this week Healey pledged to make sure Nibi is protected.

"We all care about what is best for the beaver known as Nibi and all wild animals throughout our state," Mark Tisa, director of MassWildlife, said in a statement Thursday. "We share the public's passion for wildlife and invite everyone to learn more about beavers and their important place in our environment."

Jane Newhouse, the rescue group's founder and president, has said that after Nibi was found on the side of the road, they tried to reunite her with nearby beavers who could have been her parents but were unsuccessful. After that, attempts to get her to bond with other beavers also didn't work.

"It's very difficult to consider releasing her when she only seems to like people, and seems to have no interest in being wild or bonding with any of her own species," she said.

Nibi has a large enclosure with a pool at the rescue operation, and will also wander in its yard and rehabilitation space, Newhouse said: "She pretty much has full run of the place. Everybody on my team is in love with her."

Newhouse said she had asked MassWildlife if she could get a permit for Nibi to become an educational beaver, allowing her to take the beaver to schools, libraries and town halls. Newhouse said she feared a release would mean certain death for her beloved "diva" beaver, who doesn't know how to live in the wild.

"It doesn't give her much time ... to figure out how to build a lodge for the first time, how to build dams for the first time, how to store all of her food before winter sets in," she said.

Newhouse said that beavers usually leave their parents between the ages of two and three years old, so it's possible that over the next year Nibi will show more interest in wanting to be in the wild. But unless that happens, she wants to keep her safe.

Beavers are common and abundant throughout Massachusetts. A keystone species, beavers play an important role in fostering biodiversity of ecosystems, according to state officials.

By damming rivers and streams, and forming shallow ponds, beavers are vital for creating healthy wetlands that support a tremendous diversity of plants, bugs, and wildlife, and store floodwaters during storms.

They are also North America's largest native rodents, weighing between 35 and 80 pounds and reaching 0.6 to 0.9 metres in length as adults.

Adult beavers have very few predators and can live for 20 years or more.

In almost all cases, it's best to leave wildlife alone, officials said, so they don't come to rely on humans for food and shelter.