Baxter the beaver is turning into dam well-known on this Riverside County neighborhood – Press Enterprise

Well, dam — there’s a beaver in Riverside County.

A beaver named Baxter has captured the hearts of locals close to Murrieta Creek in Wildomar.

Just a number of weeks in the past, Will Mattox, 43, posted a video of a beaver in close by Murrieta Creek to the GoWildomar Facebook web page, which he began in April 2025 to boost consciousness about native occasions and companies.

“Baxter the Beaver!” he posted. “Did you know Wildomar has its very own beaver damming things up in our local creek?”

The publish collected greater than 180 likes and dozens of feedback.

“New mascot?”

“What a cutie!!!!!!”

“Lookin good, Baxter!”

Since then, Baxter’s public profile has “taken off,” Mattox mentioned. Soon, Baxter had his personal Facebook page. Mattox, who owns the corporate Seriously Stickers along with his spouse, drew up Baxter stickers and began promoting them at native occasions.

Even native politicians have rallied round Baxter as a metropolis mascot. Wildomar Mayor Carlos Marquez mentioned that, in August, he plans to make “hometown celebrity” Baxter an honorary member of the town’s public works workforce — given his “interest in local infrastructure,” in fact.

“If anyone deserves honorary public works status, it’s Baxter,” Marquez mentioned. “He truly gives a dam about our community.”

Despite his native fame, Baxter’s presence isn’t uncommon — there have been a number of experiences of “resilient beavers” within the space, regardless of “several decades of human development,” mentioned Rudy Mena, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They’re normally seen in years with heavy water flows, and their dams have “positive ecological impacts without changing the overall flow of the creeks themselves,” Mena mentioned.

Who is Baxter?

There’s lots we don’t learn about Baxter — together with his or her gender.

Mattox mentioned he known as the beaver “Baxter” as a result of “it just sounded funny,” however he’s really undecided if Baxter is a male or feminine, and even presumably a number of beavers.

“I started calling him that, and it immediately stuck,” he mentioned. “The moment I posted that, I started to see everybody posting in the forums. Now it was, ‘Oh, I saw Baxter today.’ ”

“And I’m like, ‘Oh man, what have I started?’” Mattox added, laughing.

Some have claimed they’ve seen child beavers within the creek, however Mattox mentioned he hadn’t seen them himself, and nobody’s managed to seize photographs. “We don’t know if it’s the Baxter family versus a singular Baxter,” he mentioned.

Amateur photographer Chris Varney, 21, has been photographing Baxter for a few yr. He’s lived in Wildomar for many of his life, heard a few beaver in Murrieta Creek from a pal, and spent every week making an attempt to catch a glimpse. Varney has posted photographs of Baxter on his Instagram web page, and he mentioned individuals have been shocked to study the realm has a habitat that might help the semiaquatic animals.

Since beavers are primarily lively at daybreak and nightfall, Varney mentioned there have been restricted hours to get viable pictures. Collectively, he estimated he’s spent about 50 hours ready to seize a snapshot of the now-famous beaver. But Varney mentioned he likes the problem, plus he enjoys spending time in nature.

“It takes a lot of effort, whether it’s going on hikes or sitting in the same spot for hours on end,” he mentioned.

Varney mentioned he’s by no means seen a couple of beaver without delay, and he’s seen movies of the infants, however he hasn’t noticed any himself. “I’m hoping to get out there and document them,” he mentioned.

Beaver backlash

But Baxter’s fame hasn’t been with out controversy. Some individuals have accused Mattox of “doxxing” the beaver, he mentioned.

But Baxter had already been an area fixture for a number of years, with photographs of him periodically popping up on native boards for the previous couple of years, and Mattox mentioned he hoped that elevated consideration may result in elevated protections for the Wildomar celeb, just like how the social media stardom of Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow has gained them better protections.

“I thought that it might be best if he had more popularity, then he would be protected by more people,” he mentioned.

Varney mentioned he’s additionally obtained some backlash for posting photographs of Baxter, however he is aware of the response is “out of protection” for the beaver.

The means the neighborhood has rallied round Baxter reveals how Wildomar residents “embrace the little things,” Marquez famous.

“One of the things I love most about our community is that we care about each other and never pass up the chance to share a laugh,” Marquez mentioned. “This is all about celebrating what makes our community special.”