Photo:Bartlett Police Department
Bartlett Police Department
One Tennessee hospital got an unexpected visitor as a Christmas gift.
The Bartlett Police Department in Tennesseeshared on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it received a call about a beaver on the loose at St. Francis Hospital on Christmas morning around 6:45 a.m.
The department shared a photo of an officer with the captured beaver outside of the hospital. In the picture, the giant beaver is in a black bin with a light blue blanket hanging off the side of the container. The police department noted that the beaver was “huge…. because those carts are pretty good size” and that the creature took up a large part of the carrier.
The agency also shared a photoon Facebookof the beaver underneath a piano nibbling on what appeared to be some wood. The department captioned the photo, “Nom nom nom piano legs.”
“Things you do not want under your tree on Christmas morning…,” the police department added on Facebook. “Officer Read made sure the beaver found a good home.”
Police officers found the beaver hiding under a piano in the lounge of St. Francis Hospital, the department told theCharlotte Observer. The department also noted that the creature was “probably looking to nom nom a Christmas tree.”
According to the Bartlett Police Department, Officer Robb Read was the one to secure the beaver, put the animal in a large black cart, and relocate the critter to a safe area. The police department did not specify the exact location of the beaver’s release.
“No beavers or officers were injured,” the police department told McClatchy News, per theCharlotte Observer.
The police department did not share how the beaver got into the hospital. Still, the agency noted that the entry doors to the hospital were automatic and that the beaver was likely large enough to activate the doors.
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According to theTennessee governmentwebsite, American beavers are “abundant in many areas across the state,” often grow to be 34-54 inches in length, and weigh anywhere between 26 - 90 lbs.
The creature is often found in “streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds, and small lakes” where they can build dams. Their diet is made primarily of twigs and the softer bark from trees like “willow, maple, poplar, beech, birch and alder.”
source: people.com
