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What
Beavers and muskrats are wetland architects. Beavers often create wetlands by building dams. Muskrats feed on aquatic plants, which helps maintain areas of open water that ducks require. Both beavers and muskrats build lodges of sticks and mud. Their furs were so valuable that beavers and muskrats were nearly trapped out. Their populations have since rebounded, but they are now under threat again, as wetlands are lost to urban and farmland expansion.
Nsyilxcən Translation
iʔ‿stunx naʔł iʔ‿sʕ̓aʕ̓níxʷ st̓qtqípsəlx iʔ‿stɣtɣaps itlí kʷlkʷul̓ iʔ‿nʕax̌ʷʕax̌ʷat̓ uł acnpłpʕáłlaʔxʷ
(the beaver and muskrat create wetlands by building dams).
iʔ‿sʕ̓aʕ̓níxʷ əciłsts iʔ‿snplplítkʷ ałí scnxʷk̓ʷitkʷms təks snʔiłntns iʔ‿x̌ʷʕatətx̌ʷt
(the muskrat eats aquatic plants and clears the area for ducks).
ʕasílməlx əckʷúlłxʷuməlx iʔ‿t‿kł cətcítxʷsəlx tl‿simlaʕlaʔxʷ naʔł sx̌əx̌ćíʔ uł nixʷ ha‿cml̓ml̓kʷálaqʷ
(they build their homes from the green clay and sticks and also smaller logs)
qsapíʔ iʔ‿stunx naʔł iʔ‿sʕ̓aʕ̓níxʷ talí xʷʔítəlx
(long ago the beaver and muskrat were many in number)
taʔlíʔ nslxʷaʔqsm i?‿staxʷs snʔístsəlx ałi xʷʔítəlx Hudsons Bay Company, səxʷnʕacúsm naʔł səxʷnísm tə‿sqəlwíc̓aʔ
(they were valued for their fur because they were pleantiful by Hudsons Bay Company and the fur trappers and private fur buyers).
xʷuy uł nkʷikʷiʔymaqswílaʔx uł kʷu‿ƛ̓lap acnqláw̓mstm
(as time went they became less valued and we stopped making money)
uł c̓sap iʔ‿stunx wam̓ tqtqípsəlx iʔ‿nʕax̌ʷʕáx̌ʷt naʔł cəcw̓íxaʔ.
(and when the beaver was all gone they stopped making dams)
miyał ła‿cxʷr̓r̓łtiməlx iʔ‿takł st̓mʕalt, xʷuy uł p̓aʕ̓aʕ̓.
(their dams were broken by those with cattle and they left).
ʕapnaʔ yaʕyaʕt iʔ‿stunx kʷu‿łwintm səxʷxʷulaʔxʷəlx
(now all the beaver have left us)
Audio
Les castors et les rats musqués sont les architectes des zones humides. Les castors créent souvent des zones humides par la construction des barrages. Le rat musqué mange les plantes aquatiques, ce qui contribue à maintenir les zones d’eau libre pour les canards. Les castors et les rats musqués construisent des loges de bâtons et de boue tous les deux. L’Histoire des débuts du Canada est intimement liée au piégeage de ces deux mammifères. Leurs fourrures étaient si précieuses que le piégeage est devenu excessif. Les populations ont maintenant rebondi, mais ils sont menacés une fois de plus, par l’égouttage des zones humides et la conversion.
