Beavers could be humans' biggest ally, if we let them
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Beavers and humans tend to clash over landscape management. Pixar's “Hoppers” captures the struggle, and Oregon proves coexistence is possible.
Beavers are having a moment, thanks to the new Pixar movie “Hoppers.” Amid some body-swapping shenanigans, the film is about humans coexisting with wildlife—particularly oversized rodents capable of reworking landscapes in profound ways.
The beaver science consultant on “Hoppers,” Emily Fairfax, joins Flora to talk about beavers’ brilliant, chaotic landscape engineering, and how the creatures show up in the movie. Then, reporter Zac Ziegler walks Flora through a successful beaver-centric engineering project in Oregon.
Guests:
Emily Fairfax is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota. She was a science consultant for the Pixar movie “Hoppers.”
Zac Ziegler is a reporter at KLCC in Eugene, Oregon.
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