I wrote:
(Muskrats,
> otters, minks, etc -- along with birds and fish -- all go "splash"
when they
> jump in the water.)
Richard wrote:
<<Might not the beaver warning signal be significant here? I have a vague
recollection that beavers slap their tails on the water as a warning. The
other animal's splashes are not deliberate.>>
I believe they thump the ground. There was a beaver pond on my aunt's farm in
upstate NY and though you would rarely see beavers, you knew they were there
from the chewed birches and the dam and mounds. I never heard thumping.
They do not jump in the water like an otter but glide in. The most I saw of
them was when a neighbor would trap them. The huge front teeth and the size
compared to a muskrat is what I remember. BTW, even in that group the color
of the fur varied quite a bit.
Steve