No. I'm kind.
He was chasing females along the R254 highway and lost his mind. Too bad, the virus people wanted brain samples

That is wild. They grayish i spoke of was close but not that gray. It had a tan tinge to it but it was enough for it to be noticeably different than that of the two males. I certainly have never seen that THICK of oil either.


Boy, if I ever come back as an animal I hope it’s not a rabbit in Siberia lol

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I have noticed hair in the oil glands. I talked with my dad about that, and he speculated that it may have been because of the beaver's combing. He thought the hairs may have been pushed into the oil gland when the beaver was extracting the oil with it's toenail.

I've never seen the oil sac secretions gray like that. Like Bob said, ours are mostly a shade of brown, more of a beige color. At least that's what mine have looked like, and the male secretions can be thick like that.

He was enjoying a night with the ladies. Died young, probably left offspring, never knew what hit him. Made a career in science as a bonus. No old age, no nagging wives, no mortgage, no health issues, no alimony, no loneliness. Perfect way to go. Yet you guys insinuate I'm mean, and now I feel like I'm princess Fiona

I think the hairs actually grow inside the sacs. Sometimes there are very fine, down-like hairs in the mass, that appear to be half-dissolved or poorly formed to begin with, so I think there are some hair follicles in the lining of the sacs. The difference in the oil could be because of testosterone. Testosterone metabolites (DHT) positively affect sebaceous gland function. It is why men lose hair and have more greasy skin than women. The mechanism works in many mammals, male Norway rats have greasy fur that becomes cleaner when they're neutered. Testosterone would Increase the oil production and possibly change the chemical composition (shorter carbon chains = more runny and more smelly). The fluid oil is possibly be more convenient for territorry marking compared to the thick oil that females of the European beaver have. There's probably a reason for it, maybe because male beaver (at least here) are more involved in patrolling and terrritory marking than females, which would seem logical especially in the spring, when the females are staying with the kits.

Our females possibly produce the oil very slowly, hence the thickness and the gray color from the shedded wall cells.

I actually think the difference in the smell may not be very important to beavers because they all seem to hate each other so much regardless of the sex, but it could make a difference if the oil is used as a component in lures for other animals because of the different fatty acid composition.

It is just my guess, no one seems to have studied it.

Tatiana, a very interesting topic I like your common sense thinking on animal behavior. Thought...Paul mentioned that his Dad thought that maybe
the hairs were possibly PUSHED into the gland. I wonder how the beaver accesses the gland oil to comb it into the fur? AND possibly does the combing toe
actually enter the gland opening and stimulate the oil to flow by contacting the HAIRS inside? Just thoughts....
AND it seems every year I have both beavers, muskrats and... I'll throw skunks in also that have DIFFERENT smelling glands.
SOME of those animals mentioned have a much stronger smell when compared to others....a ranker smell. Here in my state,( besides muskrats in the spring) there doesn't seem to be specific season for it to occur.
Anyone else experience this?

Same here. I never really payed attention to sex of the beaver, generally removed oil sacs when I removed castor and either throw them in the freezer whole or squeeze them into a jar. Some are thicker oil than others, and color varies some, but always a tan or yellow, if I had ever seen any that looked like grey JB Weld I would have noticed.

MChewk,
Yes I have also noticed individuals with much stronger smell than others. In many species at times.

Like Paul I have noticed the hair pieces in the oil when squeezing oil out. Always wondered about that purpose or reason for it.

I've saved many otter glands over the years and noticed that there is an odor difference from otter to otter....same as castor. There is also a color variance in otter musk.

I don't think you're mean, but the rabbit's mashed head and blood smeared on the floor.....I had to ask.

Also, the two beaver feet laying there was puzzling.....lol. That room looks like a kitchen....not a fur shed or skinning room.