Archive Footage Shows Beavers Parachuted From Planes in Relocation Project

Idaho Fish and Game Department Historian Sharon Clark went looking for the rumored footage and finally found it, mislaid and mislabeled.

A short caption alongside the film reads: “Parachuting beavers!”.

Luckily for us, 65-year-old footage of the famed beaver drops recently resurfaced – check out the skydiving rodents after the 7-minute mark.

It all started back in 1948 when, in the post-war boom, Idahoans began expanding outwards and building new homes further into the attractive wilderness. “The box opens and a most unusual and novel trip ends for Mr. Beaver”. She added that the department used the airplanes because the area was so remote. They moved 76 beavers, losing just one in the process.

In what was thought of only as a myth The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has released the original 1950’s color film “Fur for the Future” that documents the transplanting of beavers, muskrat, and martin by parachute.

Steve Nadeau, a wildlife biologist with the department, told Boise State Public Radio that while they do still relocate beavers, they don’t use planes and haven’t for “50-plus years”.