US film of parachuting beavers found after 65 years (it's ok, they survived)

Source: Associated Press

US film of parachuting beavers found after 65 years (it's ok, they survived)

Associated Press in Boise, Idaho
Thursday 22 October 2015 23.01 BST

More than half a century after a group of beavers were parachuted into the Idaho backcountry, the state’s department of fish and game has uncovered film footage of the quirky wildlife management moment.

In the 1940s the department was trying to deal with an overpopulation of beavers in some regions when wildlife managers settled on a novel idea. They captured beavers and other fur-bearing rodents, packed them into boxes, attached parachutes and dropped them from a plane into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

Boise state public radio reports that a film made around 1950 showed the infamous beaver drops, but it had long been lost.

Recently, fish and game historian Sharon Clark found the fragile film, which had been mislabeled and stored in the wrong file.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/22/idaho-historic-footage-parachuting-beavers