Pregnant beaver spotted along Chicago River's South Branch
A new celebrity is making waves in Chicago — and she's the talk of Chicago's South and Southwest sides.
The environmental nonprofit group Urban Rivers spotted the female beaver along the South Branch of the Chicago River. The group is calling her "remarkably rotund" and say she is likely pregnant.
The river queen has been seen near the docks on the river's South Branch in the Pilsen, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park neighborhoods — often with her presumed mate and a litter of kits.
Even as a mom-to-be, the beaver in question is huge — giving new meaning to the term "dam(n) big."
Urban Rivers' Nick Wesley explained how the organization has been tracking her.
"We've seen these big beavers when we're kayaking or boating around or something, but it's pretty tough to capture them like that," Wesley said. "So this one was a camera trap set up in one of the slips on the South Branch near Bubbly Creek. So that particular area has had a ton of wildlife, including regular visits from this big beaver."
Urban Rivers now wants help giving the beaver a name, and asked for ideas on the Chicago subreddit. Some of the names already being floated include Southside Large Marge, Dam Ryan, Sigourney Beaver, and even Lori Heavyfoot.
