All animals have certain instincts and behavior that can’t be unlearned — even if you take an animal out of the wild, they’ll still want to behave the same.
Like one rescue beaver, who decided to build a dam in the middle of her wildlife rescue for a hilarious reason: to keep her new roommate out.
Nibi arrived at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, last May, after attempts to reunite the beaver with her family were unsuccessful. Nibi was taken in, and the shelter wrote that she had “stolen all of our hearts.”
The rescue has been caring for Nibi, hoping to eventually rehabilitate her and release her back into the wild.
Nibi was living the life and enjoying her own space as the wildlife center’s only beaver — but a few months later, she got a roommate.
Newhouse Wildlife Rescue took in another baby beaver named Ziibi:
But while the new arrival is adorable and described as “somewhat shy” and “very gentle,” Nibi was not impressed. Despite hopes that the two orphaned beavers would find common ground, they did not get along.
Apparently unhappy about another beaver intruding on her space, Nibi has become quite aggressive towards Ziibi: the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue said that she “tries to bully” Ziibi.
“So far she and Nibi have not made friends. She is showing interest but Nibi wants nothing to do with her,” the rescue wrote. “Beavers can be very territorial and aggressive with new comers so we are going very slow with these two.”
And the beavers’ rivalry reached new heights when Nibi went to extreme measures to keep her unwanted roommate out for good — in an extremely beaver-like way.
According to the rescue, Nibi was rewarded “for her good behavior towards her roommate” by getting an hour of time alone while Ziibi was out in the aquatic enclosure.
But Nibi decided to make sure her roommate would stay gone for good — by covering the door with a dam:
The video of Nibi building her dam has gone viral, reaching over 10 million views on Facebook.
People couldn’t help but laugh at the beaver’s plan, the lengths she is going just to have the place to herself. To many people who have dealt with a difficult roommate, it’s all too relatable.
It’s also just fascinating to see this beaver’s natural instincts in action, even removed from her natural habitat and separated from her family.
“It’s so ingrained in them they’ll take anything,” the center’s founder Jane Newhouse told KENS 5, explaining that it’s instinctual even without parental instruction.
The beavers’ caretakers still hope a bond will eventually form between Nibi and Ziibi, because it would be much better for their eventual rehabilitation.
“If they are both raised alone, they are more apt to bond with people or become socially inept in the wild,” the rescue explained. “Their bonding is what’s best for both of them as it significantly increases their chances of a successful rehabilitation so we are going to give it everything we’ve got to make it happen!”
Time will tell if these rivaling beavers can actually become friends, but lately the center has seen some incremental progress.
“The two are ‘tolerating’ each other now and can be in the same room without fighting,” the explained in an update. “When the slightest aggression is sensed, They are separated. We only allow them to be together when we can watch them closely to make sure no fights break out and nobody gets hurt.”
“They aren’t ‘besties’ but they aren’t at war anymore, so we’ll take the win! Maybe in time, a closer relationship can form.”
We hope these two beavers can learn to get along — and that Nibi doesn’t have any more plans to keep her roommate out!
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