Veterinarians trying to save beaver found wandering downtown Martinez

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Veterinarians are trying to figure out why a beaver wandered out of the creek and into a road in downtown Martinez which may have resulted in it being hit by a car.

Nibbling on willow branches Friday at Lindsay wildlife rehabilitation Hospital-- the beaver looks content but it was found looking dazed in the middle of busy Alhambra Avenue in Martinez last week.

A good Samaritan wrapped the beaver in a blanket and rushed it to The hospital to get help.

Veterinarian Dr. Allison Daugherty has been treating the beaver and said, "Because she was found on the road we are concerned she could've been hit by a car and have head trauma. There's also a concern something else is going on which is why she wandered out into the road."

The beaver is a young teenage female who is not behaving appropriately. She should be afraid of people and is not. There is concern there may be vision and neurological problems. She has a broken tail and abrasions on her feet. Her condition is guarded and she may not survive.

The Martinez beavers famously made headlines in 2007 when they built a dam on Alhambra Creek in the middle of the urban downtown. An effort to save them and prevent flooding put Martinez on the national conservation map.

Heidi Perryman started a nonprofit called "Worth a Dam".

She said, "We were in National Geographic this year so the Martinez beavers are a big part of our history."

There is an annual beaver festival and T-shirts.

At their peak there were seven beavers but they have since moved upstream to a more secluded spot, and now it's believed there are only three left.

Could the one found in the road be one of them? Or is it an outsider moving into the area? Doctors are still working to save its life.