Long Lost Footage Of Parachuting Beavers Rediscovered

BOISE, Idaho (CBS13) - Long thought lost footage of wildlife officials dropping beavers with parachutes out of planes has been rediscovered.

The 1940s-era video was captured by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Back then, the state was dealing with beaver overpopulation in some areas.

So - in what seemed like a good idea at the time - wildlife management officials decided to round up any beavers they could, fly them out to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, then drop them out of planes.

At least in the video, titled "Fur for the Future," the beavers look like they came out of the drops OK.

Speaking to Boise State Public Radio, Idaho wildlife officials say are still relocating beavers - just not by dropping them out of planes.

"We haven't done airplane drops for 50 plus years, but it apparently worked pretty well back then to reestablish them in remote places," Steve Nadeau said.

Watch the full "Fur for the Future" video above. Skip ahead to about 7:45 minutes in to see the parachuting beavers.