Hi I’m Bandit. I’m a Colorado beaver. On December 7, 1999, I made my way up the river from Runyon Lake in Pueblo. I came across a beautiful Riverwalk. There were lots of new trees and a riverbank boardwalk. I thought this would be a great place to build a home and start a family. It only took a few days for me to chop down 17 trees. Under the boardwalk was the perfect place for a private retreat, so I went to work. Three TV stations even came to film my work!
How was I to know that the trees I took were not put there for me? I don’t really have human friends and I never heard of a landscape company. The people working to build the Riverwalk were not very happy with my stealing their new trees. And they were worried about my safety…because you see, the Riverwalk is in an urban area where lots of people visit. Sometimes they bring big dogs!
After some careful negotiations, I agreed to move my home to a safer place. I now live a little further away from downtown Pueblo and those big dogs sticking their nose in my home.
I can come back to visit. In fact, the Riverwalk people think I’m so cute, they put my picture on the web and they will help school children understand why I’m so important to the ecosystem. Wow! Who would have thought I would become such a star?
