I've got an old Alaskan buddy who now resides in Grant's Pass. He tells me that his grandson catches beaver on the Rogue, and that the fat from those beavers is bright orange. I've never heard of such a thing. Apparently, beaver fat from other drainages in the vicinity is not off-colored at all, just from the Rogue. Any of you ever seen or heard of anything like this? Help me out, huh?

Jack

Snowy wave , my Idaho neighbor,

Just a couple days ago, I saw a post on my art FB page feed , of a trapper who caught one and had asked about that very thing. He had a couple pics posted and that fat was as orange as a sunset in the smoke. Many good thoughtful comments were given on it, from not a few trappers in varied locations , which I read with interest.

Of course I didn't keep track of that news feed, so I have thrown out my fishing line to the groups in hopes that they can help me locate that post and photos.

Ill let you know !

Saw someone posting a beaver with basketball orange fat on facebook the other day. Guessing its something to do with diet perhaps.

Jack !!!

I found it !

I just wrote him about your curiosity and how I may connect you both somehow. He is also from Oregon ....maybe the same man ?

Well now its just a matter of time to connect the two ends, or if they already are . So nice to have a plethora of trappers to remember just where that post was located and help me find it.

If he isn't the same guy, you have another source with the same sunset orange innards

I caught one like that on the Willamette some years back. It is definitely diet, and if I recall correctly that beaver was foraging in a beet field. It has been long enough that I might be off on that. Maybe it was a corn field?

I have also seen that with nutria.

Oh Great! Now we have the Humboldt Beaver out here.

I notice a different colour fat(yellow) on the beaver that live on those cattail roots that look like pineapples.There are some lakes here with beaver feedbeds that are full of those roots.Those beaver all have a distinctly yellow fat.

They are loading up on beta carotene from some source or another.

Does any have pictures of this?

OK, it's one and the same person, Jack....oh well, at least it's so great that many folks were willing to help connect the ends !

I can say, there's a whole passel of peeps who are keenly interested in this, and in what may be discovered about it .

Ain't hi tec a mighty thing !

On the surface.....

Quite obviously that beaver lives in MAGA country.

There has been gold rushes on the Rogue in the past. Back track that beaver. The old timers never got it all.

Ginger-innards beaver?! The apocalypse is here.

Posted by a guy named Troy.

Jack, I think you misread your buddy's email. It was probably the ROUGE River not the ROGUE !

Actually I caught one like that on the Stony. His grub pile was in almost 6 feet of ice with only 6-8 inches of water. He had chewed his way up through the cutbank and was logging in February. He was fat but no muscle tone at all. He sort of flowed into a flat spot once his hide was off. He looked just about like the one in the picture above

Or maybe the ROE River.

Those early coureurs de bois knew what they were working with and many place names are enshrined in stone across this country.

I think that's it. The beaver are suffering from Pautzke's Symdrome

What the! I sure wouldn't touch that with a bare hand, no way!

I'd make sure that went to an incinerator

A diet of Osage ...?

Beaverpeeler.... red beets, or white?

Seriously with all the disease out there, why doesn't everybody wear skinning gloves? They're cheap and if they save you one time?! Firstly you're healthy and second avoided a steep medical bill... and it keeps all that stuff from under your nails and smell on your skin... Yeah I skinned plenty of critters in the day no gloves but was stupid for doing it... Recommended by every game dept and trappers assoc... Think about it people... a box of skinning gloves cheap insurance!

Its just meat-and how else are you going to build up your immune system,

Seriously-nitrile skinning gloves is a good idea.

I see the orange fat beavers here its fairly common, not sure why, but it could be from eating the red bark of the alder bushes here, or the water plants in the lakes. The alder bark makes a natural red dye. I have eaten them with no problems. they are fat and healthy just any other.

Beta carotene is found in high levels in certain root plants. It is a fat soluble vitamin so in excess amounts it is stored in the fat.

This

Okay! Much appreciate all the come-backs on my question. Indeed, the grandson of the friend of mine is named Troy, so undoubtedly we're talking about the same trapper. Interesting. Thanks Sharon.

Its obvious that diet can, and does, influence coloration of fatty tissue. The suggestion of perhaps beets sure makes a lot of sense to me. Also, Boco talking about the "pineapples", leading to a yellowish fat makes perfect sense as well. Thanks to all!

I'm reminded of mink in the intertidal zone of SE Alaska. During my time there, I cleaned several hundred mink skulls. Every so often, (maybe one in 50 or 60 skulls), I'd get one that, even after the bleaching in peroxide, would be purple. Yes, pastel purple-colored bone! Finally figured it out, in that these were mink that were consuming sea urchins, and this dietary component would actually stain the bones and teeth. To me, fascinating. You are what you eat.

Again, thanks all!

Jack

Many thanks for your share of your AK mink experiences , Jack. Always enjoy your life adventures and narrative thoughts along the way .

Just shows how much trappers contribute to learning of the natural world mechanics .

Wondering if my foundation reflects all the chocolate I have enjoyed ovah time

Never seen orange beaver fat but I have seen chicken skin, yellow, coon fat a few times. Those coons were usually younger (about 10-12 pounds) and caught in corn fields.

Mike

The beef we used to raise on our place all had orange fat. Not much grass, mostly browse.

In Mexico the broiler chicken operations used to add dry marigold flower material to the feed so that the chicken skin and fat would be more golden colored as if they were being corn fed which the consumers there demand.

Funny you should mention "Pautzke's". I caught a trout once that had been feeding on a jar of Pautzke's "Balls-o-Fire" that had apparently fallen overboard. The entire trout; guts, flesh, and skin were stained hot pink from the dye in the eggs.