First of all I rarely post and do more reading because it would be a lie to say I am a trapper but I do trap as I must to keep the beavers suppressed else they will destroy everything. From my reading on this forum and watching stuff on Youtube my success rate has gotten much better than when I first joined this forum and until now most of my questions have been solved via the search engine and some reading. Till now.

I may be looking for an answer where there may not be any definitive answer but I would appreciate your gut experienced opinion of what the animal is that keeps messing up my traps.

My beaver problem began again about two months ago. I thought we had a truce but they began stopping my pipes up again and they had repaired the dams which had stayed breached for several months. Anyhow, I began catching some pretty good sized beavers using 330's, snares and #4 leg holds then things slowed down except at one of the dams on the north end of the property. Here, the dam continued to be repaired and I set a snare below the dam and three #4 leg holds around the dam which I had breached with a small deep trench. As usual, I would find the traps sprung, the dam repaired and occasionally I'd have a young beaver in my snare setup several yards below the dam.

I concluded that the leg traps were too small so I stuck a 220 trap down with them and came back the next morning to find it and a #4 had both been pulled out of the creek and wrapped around some brush and just laying there without an animal. This was the first time I had actually caught some meat on any of the traps around the dam.

Trying to reason this thing out I concluded that maybe this was just a big beaver and my traps were too small for its feet and this is why the 220 had caught it and the #4 was just a secondary catch. With that in mind I decided I'd buy some #5 traps and set these using a drowning set so I pulled all the other traps and replaced them with two drowning rods hooked to two Bridger #5 double coil traps, one set just off center to the dam breach in shallow water for the front foot catch and the other offset on the other side of the breach on a shelf in deeper water. I felt good about this and I didn't see how a beaver could repair the breach without getting caught. Unless, as I watched on MeatTrapper's video on Youtube, the beaver was a sage one and approached it from the side. To try safeguard against this possibility I borrowed a game camera and put it on video mode so I could watch the activity. Sadly, I didn't know how to work it well and adjust it from only filming 30 second videos which I found too short to be of much use.

Anyhow, we had a rainy night and I thought sure I'd have something in the trap the next morning so I went to the site and found the trap that was placed in the shallow water was gone but the one in the deep water was still there. I pulled the rod expecting to feel some weight on the end of it but it wasn't laying in the direction I had set it nor was it fixed in the mud anymore. Instead it was facing toward the far shore. Upon pulling the rod up I found nothing there - not even my trap! It was gone. The breaking point was where the snap hook had been. This is the second trap I've lost to broken carabiners in the last three weeks. The first occurred at the dam to the far south of this spot - about a quarter mile south. I lost a 220 here but I wrote it off due to my trying to save $0.20 by buying the links that only hold 160 lbs - I think. Anyhow, after losing this trap I replaced all the links with heavier links which I think will hold 240 lbs or something like that. I don't know if this has anything to do with this or not but also shortly after losing this trap I had two snares chewed in two by something I assumed to be a big beaver.

As I said the video is too short to be of any real use but it may offer some clues but I'm not sure. From the video I can see a raccoon on the dam around 11 pm and he is fishing around in the water just inches away from the shallow #5 then the video ends. Around 9 a.m the next morning there are some waves in the water but you cannot see an animal then the video shuts off. A couple hours later I show up to find the trap is gone and the drowning rod pulled out of place.

I apologize for the long post but I'm trying to paint as clear a picture as I can. Does this sound like a beaver? Or could this be an alligator? We have gators but it is February. I just wish the camera hadn't shut off so quickly.

Like I say, I know there is no way of telling for sure without seeing it but I figure you guys experience could shed better light on things than my guesses. Thanks for your time.

Interesting. Hard to say for sure. Here whenever traps go missing unexpectedly I start looking for signs of bears. Usually the gear is found eventually, but sometimes not at all.

With beaver dispersing now it is possible to have caught them all and still see dams rebuilt. It's just new pairs moving in.

Could be gators springing your traps too but of course only beaver will repair a dam, lol.

Thanks Fingertrapper. That makes sense. Bears are uncommon but I do have gators in this swamp. I don't see them often but I did actually snare one early this spring and getting it out of the snare was exciting to say the least but it wasn't but about six foot. I don't know how much jaw pressure it would take to snap the snap link but I guess a large gator could do it. I could have more easily understand things if I had pulled the trap and found the front shoulder of the coon still attached to the trap but I guess if the gator put the whole coon in his mouth then the snap link would have been the weakest link.

This "beaver" had been my nemesis for a couple weeks and its discouraging that I didn't catch him or at least video what went on. I'll probably reset the camera and set it for 5 minutes and see what it captures because my curiosity if killing me but a large animal like a gator or bear makes sense. In the case of a large animal is there any particular spot the set breaks? This is two snap links for me but with snares hooked to trees I've had two of these chewed and twisted in two.

The topography here is almost flat so a few dams can flood a lot of area thus killing a lot of timber. With the maples beginning to bud out I have to get the water off this land before the trees die. I breached all the dams I'm aware of this week so I hope the problem is gone for a spell but I've learned these animals are relentless.

The snares being chewed seem a bit odd. It definitely does not sound like a beaver to me. If a gator grabbed what was in the trap they would roll and roll with it until it broke loose and then take off with it. That could have been the case with all those you lost. Bears seem to pull until they either get the animal out, or the staking comes loose or breaks. Then they walk somewhere nearby and eat it. Usually the gear isn't far off, but might be in very thick cover. Bobcat seem to just sit down and eat the beaver.

If your problem beaver continues, try some different methods where you don't mess with the dam. Setting further away will increase your odds of catching it.

Only thing I can say is this......I wouldn't be trappin' beavers if there was gaters in the water!

Missing traps......human theives. Gators are not your problem. I've been trapping these Ga swamps for over 3 decades and I've caught many gators but have never had a gator mess with a catch that I could prove.

Do a process of elimination starting with using 3/16" or heavier quick links to connect traps. Ensure your anchors are firm.

Here is a picture of one of the snares I lost. I've only been trapping a few years but this was a first for me. The other snare was set up the same way and twisted up the same way so what you are saying makes a lot of sense. I like this setup since I'm trapping what's basically a flooded forest with few clear runs. Its almost an open water situation but its too thick for a boat so I have to trudge through the muck.

Ditchdiver, the gators aren't that bad really. Most of the time they are scared of you and run off. Its not that we have a lot of them either though I do see them occasionally. What bothers me are the cottonmouths. I don't like them at all.

Well Joe, no gaters in Michigan! And I prefer it like that Not to mention, you said, "MOST of the time they are scared of you and run off".......what about the one time they don't get scared?
I'm fine, thank you. You can keep your snakes and giant, man eating lizards. I'll take the snow storms!
To give an actual guess to your question though, my first thought is thieves. Hope you figure it out. Post pictures of whatever it is, if you get it.... would love to see Johnny Sneakum in a #5 Bridger!

Can you say Gator nuggets...now that's a tasty trap thief!

On our 24 hour check I've never had a beaver get out of a snare. Have incidentally snared many otter and coons too. Never had one twist or chew thru 7x7 3/32" or 1x19 5/64. A few strands broke but not even close to breaking it in one night.

Lol...can you say minimum fine of $500 for taking gators out of season. Its not illegal to snag one in a beaver snare until you tote him or a part of him out and put it in your vehicle.

I'd trust Swamp Wolf's opinion. If he says not gators, probably not gators. I've dealt more with bears and bobcat here. It would just make sense based on how they eat.

If human then the snare wouldn't be frayed. They would either cut it clean or open it from inside. Tearing it apart is too much work.

Just can't see it being thievery of the human kind because this is a a good half mile behind a gate on private property and access is very limited and not user visitor friendly.

I'll try the screw on quick links like you suggest. I've been using the caribiner style with the spring gate.

What few gators we have I won't bother because I believe they eat beavers and if this is correct they are my ally.

I was referring to the missing foot trap, not the frayed and broke snares, as possible human thievery, and if you had those attached with those easy to open spring links....I rest my case. Please dont use those things to attach traps or snares. If its easy for you to open then how easy would it be for a fighting critter to get it just right?

Yep throw out the quick snaps

Thanks, I picked up some 3/8" quick links this morning. I don't know of much that could break these things.

And don't just finger tighten them. Use a wrench or pliers.

Update?? Didja catch a gator? Sasquatch??