iStockphoto / Tony LePrieur
The Windy City has a new viral sensation and the Urban Rivers organization is seeking the public’s help to name Chicago‘s fat beaver that has everyone talking. This pleasantly plump beaver is living along the Chicago River and while the weight jokes are apt it is also believed this beaver might be pregnant.
Sammie Clark is a researcher with Urban Rivers who tracks beaver sightings, behavior, population numbers and more. She spoke with Chicago’s WGN News about the city’s newest beaver celebrity saying “seeing this individual looking so plump, especially this time of year, gives us hope that it could be the female pregnant again.”
Urban Rivers has been tracking beaver sightings in Chicago since 2022 but their research began in earnest last year. They are seeking to determine if the population of beavers in the Chicago River is growing but its still way too early to tell as beaver kits stay with their parents for up to 2 years. This chunky beaver potentially being pregnant would be a great sign though:
Seeking help from the public, Urban Rivers posted a video of the chunk beaver to the Windy City’s subreddit. Urban Rivers is looking for a name for the beaver and the thread on Reddit has picked up 246 comments and counting.
Some top name suggestions for Chicago’s newest celebrity include: Dam Ryan, Lori Heavyfoot, Southside Large Marge, Rotundra, Lunt, Melvina, Paulina, Sufjan Beavens, Sigourney Beaver, Wynona the Big Brown Beaver, Dolores, Lou Malnaughty, Ethel Beavers, Mrs. O’Leary, Kurwa Bóbr, Jane ‘Bessie’ Beaver, Bavette, Ida Beaver Wells, and many more.
Urban Rivers shared some information about the chunky beaver in the thread. They say she “lives, eats, and knocks down trees in Pilsen, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park, so really she’s at the intersection of the south, southwest, and west sides of the city. She’s gotten especially large the last few weeks, probably due to pregnancy, but she’s been remarkably rotund for longer than a beaver pregnancy lasts.”
One concern is the area this beaver lives in is inhabited by coyotes. They expressed surprise that this beaver hasn’t been eaten yet by a rogue coyote.
Should the unspeakable happen and Chicago’s fat beaver succumb to a coyote attack there could be an all out war against coyotes. Under no circumstances can this be allowed to happen… Also, let’s get this beaver a name.