Meet Ida Beav Wells, the “remarkably rotund” beaver spotted along the Chicago River
By Todd Feurer
Click here for updates on this story
CHICAGO (WBBM) — A “remarkably rotund” beaver who has become a social media darling in Chicago finally has a name.
The female beaver, who is likely pregnant, has been spotted along the South Branch of the Chicago River near docks in the Pilsen, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park neighborhoods; often alongside her mate and two kits.
The environmental nonprofit group Urban Rivers held a naming contest on Reddit, and announced Thursday the winning name is Ida Beav Wells, a reference to journalist and civil rights leader Ida B. Wells.
Other names floated for the beaver included Southside Large Marge, Dam Ryan, Sigourney Beaver, Lori Heavyfoot, Lou Malnaughty, and Roger Beavert.
Urban Rivers also announced the names of the two kits who have been sticking close to her for the past year, Chewy Garcia and Plumpton Sinclair.
Urban Rivers’ Nick Wesley explained how the organization has been tracking her.
“We’ve seen these big beavers when we’re kayaking or boating around or something, but it’s pretty tough to capture them like that,” Wesley said. “So this one was a camera trap set up in one of the slips on the South Branch near Bubbly Creek. So that particular area has had a ton of wildlife, including regular visits from this big beaver.”.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
