Bringing Up Beaver: Two Orphaned Beaver Kits, Their Humans, and Our Journey Back to the Wild

A lively and charming account of one human’s relationship with an orphaned beaver kit.

On May 10, 2020, an orphaned beaver kit was found in St. Albans, Vermont and handed over to John Aberth, a licensed volunteer wildlife rehabilitator. Over the next two years, John raised the kit, whom he nicknamed "BK," and prepared him for release back into the wild. During that time, John and BK developed a special and unique bond, which John documented in a daily diary. That diary became the basis for Bringing Up Beaver, a lively and engaging account of one human’s relationship with a wild animal.

Bringing Up Beaver is more than just a feel-good story about human encounters with nature. Full of fascinating observations about beaver behavior and biology, Bringing Up Beaver also documents the unique challenges and obstacles to be faced and overcome in rehabbing a wild beaver kit. Populating the story are plenty of other wild creatures that John encounters in the course of his journey with BK, including other beavers—one of whom became BK’s mate—as well as hawks, owls, mink, and weasels.

For anyone who has been charmed by a beaver's "smile" or enjoyed books like Fox and I and Eager, Bringing Up Beaver is a must read that will give us a new perspective on the wildlife and natural world all around us.