Wary of leaving the security of the Slana River, an adult beaver slowly approaches a scent mound.  Interrupting an invisible beam, the beaver triggers a digital camera to capture this self portrait.

BEAVER BEHAVIOR

Hauling armloads of mud and moss, beavers continually add to their mounds and frequently add a fresh scent.   Bulletin boards for beavers, scent mounds are important features of their territory. And a good place to set up a camera trap I thought.  You know,  just to see what might pass. Kind of a wildlife selfie station. I pick the place, they pick the time.

Once or twice a month this wandering lynx passed the lens.

Over the spring/summer months the camera had several views of this scent mound.  To the beavers the camera was part of the scenery. I had nightmares of them chewing on the camera or even pulling the whole camtraption into the river.  But they completely  ignored it. Beavers sometimes used the mound as a feeding platform or to just sit and chill for a few minutes.  A late night surprise, the south end of a northbound grizzly. (below)

After a couple weeks of rainy weather I arrive at the camera station with a dry Nikon.  The set-up is prone to problems. False triggers, battery failure, flash and sensor failure due to moisture, even snowshoe hares chewing cords. The beavers were busy refurbishing an old bare-bones lodge downstream and had all but stopped coming to the scent mound. But I kept the camera station operating. I like unexpected surprises.