What is this nimble critter that eats leaves off violets - and leaves the rest of the garden untouched?

on September 13, 2009 at 7:00 AM, updated September 13, 2009 at 11:56 PM

The mysterious creature came by night.

It resorted to violets.

In fact, it gobbled up every last violet leaf in the garden, even the leaves on those that had sprung up like weeds.

Only the violets' tall, woody stems remained.

Curiously, not a single vegetable in the garden was touched -- not the lettuce, not the broccoli, not the tomatoes.

Then it struck again.

These 2 1/2-inch-long tufts of fur are believed to have been left by the "beaver with the fluffy tail."

This time, it went after the leaves on all the violets in the yard.

Again, the vegetables in the garden remained untouched. Nothing else was disturbed.

It didn't take long for the creature to return.

To our surprise, we discovered that all the leaves on the zucchini plant had been flattened. It looked as though a small flying saucer had landed.

The creature apparently had made itself a bed of leaves in which to sleep, and a large depression could be seen in the leaves and soil.

Unfortunately, the creature's overnight stay killed the plant and ended our prolific run of zucchini. But it hadn't eaten any of the zucchini.

What kind of alien was this?

Two days later, we discovered our summer squash plant trampled.

Again, the creature hadn't eaten any squash. In fact, it hadn't eaten anything in the garden -- except the leaves off all those violets.

Then one day my younger son got lucky.

In broad daylight, he spotted our "wild" cat chasing a dark, furry animal with a large, bushy tail. The creature was much larger -- and faster -- than the cat and scampered quickly into the nearby woods.

My son, who caught a glimpse of the fleeing animal, said it looked like a beaver with a fluffy tail.

Then a few days later, we saw something dart beneath the porch.

It was the creature!

Perhaps this was why we had found pieces of the wasp nest -- once beneath the porch -- strewn about the yard. Perhaps this was why the wasps had moved their home to a tree high above the driveway.

We hurried to look under the porch, but the creature already was no longer there.

Then one day, as I opened the door, I saw the animal sitting in the yard.

"Grab the camera!" I whispered excitedly as I turned toward my younger son. But before I could turn back, the creature had vanished.

I dashed outside, looking under the porch, running pell-mell toward the woods, but to no avail. The animal was nowhere to be seen or heard.

In all, we spotted him during daylight hours four times -- but only briefly each time, and from a distance.

Best described as the "beaver with the fluffy tail," it has short legs that carry it low to the ground, yet it moves very quickly.

Its face looks squished and flat, and the creature looks as though it has been to the hair salon for summer highlights. Its long, dark brown fur is tipped with gray or white coloring.

It's about the size of a raccoon, only fatter -- or squarer.

An initial Internet search turned up nothing.

So what is this mystery beast?

Why does it only eat the leaves of violets?

And can it be stopped?


"Can you solve the mystery of the 'beaver with the fluffy tail?' "

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