How Dropping Beavers Fixed An Entire Ecosystem!

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]In the late 1940s, Idaho faced a beaver problem. Beavers were causing damage [music] around growing towns and needed to be moved to remote wilderness areas.

[00:00:09]But reaching those spots by land was too hard and expensive. So, a clever wildlife officer named Elmo Heter came up with a wild idea. Using leftover parachutes from World War II, he built special [music] wooden boxes with breathing holes. The boxes were designed to snap open automatically when they hit the ground.

[00:00:29]They tested the system with a tough old beaver nicknamed Geronimo, who was dropped over and over again from a plane to make sure [music] it was safe. In 1948, they loaded up a small plane and parachuted 76 beavers into the Chamberlain Basin. They dropped them in pairs from several hundred feet up.

[00:00:47]Almost all of them landed safely and started building dams in their new home.

[00:00:52]Only one beaver died after it chewed its way out midair. The operation was a huge success. It was cheaper, less stressful for the animals, and helped to restore the ecosystem.