The future of the viral rescue beaver hangs in the balance

CHELMSFORD, Mass. – A custody battle over a beloved rescued beaver has fans across the country calling on officials to reconsider an order to release the beaver back into the wild.

Two-year-old Nibi was rescued as a baby by Jane Newhouse from Chelmsford and lives at her home, where she looks after other lost or injured animals as a licensed wildlife carer.

Newhouse is a former veterinary technician and her organization, Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, has all the supplies and enclosures necessary to help raccoons, opossums, ducks and countless other animals get back on their feet.

“She’s probably the most famous beaver in America right now,” Newhouse said. “She was on CNN, she was on National Geographic, she has tens of thousands of followers.”

Nibi's first brush with viral fame came when Newhouse posted a video of her reacting to the arrival of another beaver, Zibi, at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue.

“She couldn’t stand Zibi. “Zibi wanted to be friends and Nibi didn’t,” Newhouse said. “When we brought Zibi out of the rehab room to let her into the semi-aquatic enclosure, Nibi quickly started building a dam on the door… I thought it was hilarious.”

Newhouse said the video has since racked up 11 million views, but in the two years since then, the clock on their time together has been ticking.

MassWildlife rules require that baby beavers be released after two years, when they would normally separate from their parents in the wild. But Newhouse said Nibi wasn't cut out for life alone.

“She's too used to people, I don't think she's suitable for release,” Newhouse said. “It takes too much getting used to. The reason for this is that we couldn’t get her to get along with the other beavers we wanted to introduce her to.”

She said in her communication with MassWildlife that she cited several experts who agreed that Nibi's release would be detrimental to her well-being.

Newhouse tried to allow Nibi to stay with her as a teaching animal, but the request was rejected. She was scheduled to be picked up Tuesday morning, but attorney Adam Teper helped Newhouse delay the trial for now.

“He said, 'I'm not going to sleep tonight, I'm going to spend all night putting this together.' I'll be in court first thing in the morning. “I'm going to file a restraining order to protect Nibi and keep her with you to sort this thing out.” We were texting and signing court documents at three in the morning, it was crazy… He came with a judge this morning stormed into my house with signed court documents,” Newhouse said.

Nibi's fate could now be decided Friday morning in Middlesex Superior Court, and Newhouse hopes her case sheds light on the plight of other wildlife rehabilitators who don't have the advantage of their beaver being a social media star.

“We don’t deserve to be treated like this,” Newhouse said. “We deserve to be treated like the wonderful, kind people we are, who volunteer our time and help the state's wildlife residents… I will ensure that every other wildlife rehabilitator receives due process as well. We all deserve it.”