The Salmon, the Beaver, the Eagle & the Otter

B and I went to Garden Bay on the Sunshine Coast over the weekend. Our host, my boss, took us down to the creek that runs below his house to help break down a beaver dam that was blocking the salmon from swimming further up stream to the next lake. The dwindling numbers of these important fish have warrented such action.

After a day, several fish had made their way up the small waterway--and the beaver had made substantial gains in rebuilding his fortress. We knocked down the dam again and crossed fingers a few more fish would get passed before that busy beaver built it up again. But the fish only had that day to take advantage of the opening; when my boss returned today to check on their progress, here's what he found:

"The beavers built up the dam a little bit overnight, but I pulled it apart again. Saw a bald eagle ripping apart one of those two salmon we saw just above the bridge at the bottom of the trail. Didn't see a single live fish below the dam site today. A family of otters probably swam up the creek and killed all the fish. Hopefully some had spawned before they died."

That's so intense! Bald eagles and otter families gorging on three-foot long, 35-pound fish?!

Here's a backgrounder on Mixal Creek:
Mixal Creek is the only waterway that connects Sakinaw Lake, Hotel Lk, Catherine Lk, Mixal Lk and Garden Bay Lk together. Coho salmon and trout use this waterway to access these lakes and to spawn. In recent years, Mixal Creek has seen a drastic decline in numbers of returning Coho salmon, and as a result, Department of Ocean and Fisheries has begun closely monitoring and making improvements to the creek to encourage a healthy salmon population. Watch video of Coho Salmon spawning in Mixal Creek. (Scroll down)