PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
The elusive mountain beaver has once again emerged inside Forest Park.
The mountain beaver is not like the dam-building beaver most people are familiar with.
Portland Parks & Recreation workers said the animal is more like a giant, harmless mole. It's also one of the most primitive rodents around.
The mountain beaver hasn't been seen in Forest Park for years.
Then in April, a Forest Park wildlife researcher spotted signs of recent foraging activity in a specific area.
He put motion-detection cameras on that spot. The next day, the cameras had caught about seven seconds of a mountain beaver popping out of its burrow entrance, grabbing Pacific waterleaf and trillium, and then diving back into its shelter.
Now, it's happened again this week.
A motion sensor camera was able to snap a photo of the mountain beaver again moving around the park after dark.
The animals only live in Oregon and Washington.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
