Employees See a Ball of Fur Near Funeral Home and Realize It's a Baby Beaver, by Caitlin Jill Anders, Daily Dodo, Wildlife

Employees at a funeral home in Michigan were going about their day when they noticed an animal walk herself into the parking lot and curl up in a corner, exhausted. They took a closer look and soon realized that she was a baby beaver.

“They were in a location that had no bodies of water around,” Kari Aspenleiter, founder of Serenity’s Place Wildlife Rehab, told The Dodo. “That is how the story of Spruce started.”

Someone posted about Spruce on Facebook, and eventually Aspenleiter heard about the poor beaver’s plight and immediately cleared her schedule.

“It was an unusual call, being in the middle of the city of Westland, MI. I needed to confirm it was indeed a beaver,” Aspenleiter said. “Once confirmed, I immediately put a plan in place to contain Spruce and asked transport volunteer Lauren Golembiewski to go on-site to keep a visual while I grabbed supplies and headed that way.”

Once she arrived, Aspenleiter gently scooped up Spruce and gave her a thorough examination right there in the parking lot. She thought Spruce might be nervous or try to resist, but instead she was the perfect patient.

“She honestly seemed grateful to have been found,” Aspenleiter said.

Aspenleiter determined that Spruce had likely been born in the spring of 2025. Beavers are supposed to stay with their moms for about two years, but it seemed that poor Spruce had gotten lost somehow. She was underweight and dehydrated, with cuts on her tail and an infected eye, but luckily none of her injuries were life-threatening. She just needed someone to care for her. Because Aspenleiter frequently partners with Wildside Rehabilitation Center and knew it would be the perfect place for Spruce to spend the next year healing, she took Spruce there and got her settled.

Lucky Girl

From a ball of fur, lost and alone, this baby beaver is now healthy and happy in her new home. “She has quickly become a favorite of the facility and has her very own ‘stuffie’ to keep her company,” Aspenleiter said. “They are very social creatures and build strong bonds. While Wildside doesn’t wish for any animal to have to come into rehab, they are hopeful that when another beaver needs help, it will make the perfect companion for Spruce.”

No one is sure exactly how Spruce ended up in the funeral home parking lot, but her journey led her to where she is now — being cared for by people who love her and can make sure that she thrives.

To learn more about beavers, check out this amazing BBC video: Beaver Lodge Construction Squad | Attenborough | BBC Earth.