The humble beaver. It’s the second-largest living rodent, and for a rodent, it’s actually kind of cute. At least in comparison to an NYC rat. Generally, the beaver likes to gnaw on trees and uses the wood it gathers to build its famous dams where they make their homes.
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But in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, located in British Colombia, Canada, the beaver apparently also likes to snack on the fiber optic cables of Telus. Telus is an internet service provider in Canada and services the Tumbler Ridge community.
Tumbler Ridge is home to about 900 people and is fairly remote. Hence, it makes sense that something like this was bound to happen, considering that the wildlife population probably outnumbers the human population in that area.
The beaver, or beavers that made a snack of Telus’s fiber optic cables, also used some of Telus’s materials to decorate their home.
The incident happened at around 4 a.m. last Saturday, and repair crews from network operator Telus discovered the cause when they investigated. ‘Our team located a nearby dam, and it appears the beavers dug underground alongside the creek to reach our cable, which is buried about three feet underground and protected by a 4.5-inch thick conduit,’ the company said in a statement.
‘The beavers first chewed through the conduit before chewing through the cable in multiple locations.’ Telus spokesperson Liz Sauvé added that it was a ‘very bizarre and uniquely Canadian turn of events.’
Metro
Telus has restored service to Tumbler Ridge but who knows, this beaver may now have a penchant for fiber now and Telus could be feeding the need.
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