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Watch a rescued beaver meticulously build an indoor 'dam' out of random household items

Sawyer's ongoing struggle with SpongeBob SquarePants' legs is a must-see.

Sawyer checks her work once in a while as she builds her hallway dam.

The fact that beavers build dams is one of nature's coolest features. Gathering and stacking tree branches, rocks, grass and mud across a river so they can build their homes underwater is a unique instinct among the animals—and a strong one.

Apparently, it's so strong that beavers will build dams anywhere, including inside a human's house using whatever items they can find.

A video shared by Dr. Holley Muraco, director of research at the Mississippi Aquarium, shows a female beaver named Sawyer busily gathering stuffed animals, blankets, Christmas decorations, wrapping paper and more to build a dam in a hallway, and it's seriously the most delightful thing ever.



Sawyer pauses once in a while to assess her work, which is adorable. And her ongoing struggle with SpongeBob SquarePants' legs is a must-see.


If you're concerned about seeing natural animal behavior like this in an unnatural habitat, don't worry. Muraco explains that Sawyer spends most of her time outdoors with other beavers, but also likes to come in the house occasionally. More on Sawyer's life story below, but first, behold her adorableness at work:

Sawyer is one of three orphaned beavers Muraco is rehabbing at her home with the help of Woodside Wildlife Rescue.

"Sawyer is one of a kind," Muraco tells Upworthy. "Very opinionated and, as crazy as it sounds, intelligent. I raised Sawyer on a bottle in our home and then introduced her to Huck and Finn who are a bit older. All three were orphaned separately when their parents were killed. The three were sent to Woodside Wildlife to be raised as siblings."

Sawyer, Huck and Finn. Perfection.

Muraco says Sawyer started building dams in her kennel as a tiny baby and then moved on to building bigger dams in the hallway. She lives outside with Huck and Finn, but she walks to Muraco's back door when she wants to go inside to check on things and build a new dam.

Muraco says beavers are very social creatures and do better living in a group, but are also one of the most difficult animals to rehab. They have to spend up to two years with rehabbers, which is how long they would spend with their parents in the wild, and caring for them is challenging due to their complex and sensitive digestive needs. They are also prone to illness and there's a lot that's still unknown about vet care for them. Muraco says beavers are also considered a nuisance animal, especially in Mississippi, so it can be hard to find a safe place to release them.

In Muraco's care, Sawyer, Huck and Finn get ample opportunities to practice instinctive behaviors, which is a vital element of rehabilitation. The ultimate goal is for them to return to the wild once they meet key milestones.

Raising beavers is a lot of work, but Muraco is dedicated to preparing these young 'uns for life after rehab, both for their own good and for the environment. "Beavers are a keystone species and are often critical for healthy wetlands," she explains. They are misunderstood creatures and are sometimes killed by people who simply see them as pests, which is one reason Muraco publicly shares her adventures with Sawyer, Huck and Finn.

"We are so excited that people are enjoying watching the beavers and falling in love with this unusual, quirky rodent," she says.

If anyone wants to support these beaver rescue efforts, Muraco invites people to donate to Woodside Wildlife Rescue.


This article originally appeared on 01.13.23

Laurel, Mississippi is home to a little over 18,000 people, more than 61% of whom are Black. On Tuesday, the town's mayor, Johnny Magee, issued a historic executive order to remove the state's flag from the City of Laurel government properties—a moment that moved him to tears.

In a state that once declared its official position as "thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world," and listed as one of its reasons for joining the Confederacy the fact that the Union "advocates negro equality, socially and politically," the removal of a symbol of the fight to enslave Black people is a big deal. But the history of slavery is just the beginning. Mississippi was the most segregated state in the country in 1964, a full hundred years after slavery was abolished. Racism has always been rooted deeply in the history and culture of the state—including the state flag, which includes the battle flag of the Confederacy in its upper left corner.


The weight of that long history was visible in Mayor Magee's face as he tearfully sat for a full minute in front of the executive order to remove the flag. Instead of flying on government buildings in the town, the flags will be donated to the local library or other places that can keep them for posterity, according to the Laurel Leader-Call.

"Whereas through the ages, these banners have themselves grown to exemplify the traits that define the very fabric of the society they represent and have served as a means to unify, rally the spirit and passion of the citizens to one voice and purpose of the state, all of which demonstrates the significance given to these flag emblems," Magee read, according to the Laurel Leader-Call. "And whereas the current flag hovering above the State Capitol of the state of Mississippi was adopted as the state flag by the Mississippi Legislature in 1894, and the upper-left portion of this flag is often referred to as the Confederate battle flag."

Magee said the battle standard is a symbol of divisiveness and racial transgressions, "none of which represents the ideals and principles of our great nation, proud state and vibrant city."

"There comes a point in time in the annals of history when it becomes necessary to redefine who a people are, and what a collection of these people represent," Magee added. "It is the opinion of the mayor of this city that now is such a time."

Indeed. Now is such a time.

This is not supposed to be happening.

Photo by Rogelio V. Solis/AP.

Last night, a fire broke out at Hopewell Missionary Baptist, a black church in Greenville, Mississippi. Police believe the blaze was ignited intentionally and are investigating it as a hate crime, according to CNN. Thankfully, no one was hurt.


The words "Vote Trump" were scrawled on the side of the building.

We still don't know who did it and, despite the message written on the church, what their motivations are. But we are better than this.

Photo by Rogelio V. Solis/AP.

Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church is the latest crime scene in a surge of arson attacks against black churches that began last year.  

"It happened in the '50s, it happened in the '60s, but we're in 2016 and that should not happen," Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons told CNN.

Here's what this kind of attack means for the people targeted.

Dozens of congregants are now afraid to attend their house of worship for fear of further attacks.

Their children now know what it means to be violently targeted because of their race.

A whole community is transported back to a time in the not too distant past when violence against their bodies and institutions was not only tolerated, but often encouraged.

Police are investigating whether the attack was an attempt to intimidate congregants and local residents and prevent them from voting.

Photo by Rogelio V. Solis/AP.

Voter intimidation attacks against black Americans are nothing new.

The fact that they are happening now is cause for serious alarm, especially when coupled with legal attempts to disenfranchise black and minority voters across several states. In heavily black Charlotte, North Carolina, state officials cut early voting locations from 22 in 2012 to 10 this year. In Guilford County, 16 early voting locations became just one.

Early turnout in that county, predictably, fell sharply as a result.

Attacking people's right to exercise their franchise — whether through legislation or a lit match — is an attack on our highest ideals.

Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images.

It was wrong then. It's wrong now.

The right to vote, like the right to worship freely and in peace, is sacrosanct in this country.

It's not a privilege. Not a suggestion. Not a nice thing to have.

For millions of Americans of color, it may be under attack, but it's still a right.

No amount of threats, intimidation, or violence should stop any American from exercising it.

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#WhoWeAre

Kids ask a lot of questions.

There are the easy ones, of course — Why does the sun shine? Why can't I have dessert right now? — but not every childhood curiosity is so cut-and-dried.

There are some answers that are just too complicated or subjects that are too scary for parents to broach. And then, of course, there are the things that parents are still struggling with because they don't have the answers yet themselves.


If you could go back and do it again, what would you ask when you were younger? The answer probably depends on your circumstances.

Consider the case of Albert Sykes from Mississippi. Like any father of three, Sykes wants his kids to have the best lives they can. But he's also well aware of the realities of the world.

That's why Sykes sat down with his son Aidan to have an honest conversation about life: the decisions he's made for his family so far, his dreams for their future, and — well, let's just say that 9-year-old Aidan didn't shy away from the hard-hitting topics about growing up black in Mississippi.

Watch the moving father-son conversation below: