Here’s a sweet little piece of animal news: a sickly beaver found three weeks ago along the East River was nursed back to health and released Sunday in the city by a animal-rescue group based on Long Island.
The beaver, an adult female dubbed Justine, had a large intestinal blockage and was severely dehydrated, said Cathy Horvath of Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation, also known as Winorr. But after medication, two weeks at the vet and a week of rehab that included practice laps in a kiddie pool, Justine had recovered completely, Ms. Horvath said.
Ms. Horvath said the city had instructed her not to discuss where Justine was released. The Village Voice’s Runnin’ Scared blog, which posted the video above from Winorr’s Facebook page earlier today, reported that Justine was released into the Bronx River.
“She was very happy to get back in the water,†Ms. Horvath told City Room on Monday. “She smacked her tail and paddled around and found a little apartment right away.’
Justine was found by Urban Park Rangers clinging to rocks in the East River, Winorr said on Facebook. The parks department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Justine.
What blocks a beaver’s intestines? “It was like wood and stuff,†Ms. Horvath said. So what emerged “was like sawdust,†she said.
Winorr, run by Ms. Horvath and her husband Robert Horvath, who is known to City Room readers for his efforts to help Violet the red-tailed hawk from the Hawk Cam, has been having a difficult time with the authorities in Oyster Bay, N.Y., lately.
A few weeks ago, town officials were threatening to close Winorr because they said the Horvaths were keeping “dangerous animals†in a residential area. But Robert Horvath reported on Facebook on April 16 that the town had agreed to let Winorr continue to operate out of the Horvaths’ home while they look for a longer-term location.
