BEAVERS

My dog Ptiloup and I spent nine months following a couple of beavers on the banks of the Gardon, Cévenole river. Ptiloup is trained to spot beavers, otters, wolves, deer, wild boars. We photographed under the stars the different stages of this couple’s life: nutrition, nest building, mating, gestation, birth, education, defense of the young. One in two small beavers survived. The second was devoured by a troop of three otters. Nine months of sharing and intimacy. The three beavers had accepted us. They were so close to us physically, that it was impossible to photograph them at 150-600mm. We could almost pet them. It was a good time to share.