Forget North Woods Law and skunks; Rochester's finest get their beaver every time

Rochester Police Officer Craig Forrest, left, and Sgt. Jamey Balint with their captured beaver on Sunday. [Courtesy photo]

ROCHESTER - The same day "North Woods: New Hampshire" was premiering on Animal Planet with a story about Game Wardens removing skunks from a Rochester property, Rochester Police had their own wildlife show.

It seems a beaver was roaming in the downtown and had to be corralled before someone got hurt.

The first calls from the public regarding multiple beaver sightings came in around 4:15 p.m., first near the courthouse, then in the North Main Street Citizen's Bank parking lot, then back at the courthouse and finally out near Columbus Avenue.

Enter the intrepid Sgt. Jamie Balint and Officer Greg Forrest, who quickly corralled the beaver on Summer Street, where they used a stray dog lasso pole to nudge the wood-chewing rodent into a cage.

But the fun was just beginning as a picture of the close encounter found its way onto the Rochester Police Facebook page early Monday prompting a comment string that - with all due deference to Rochester Police - was somewhat, shall we say, blue.

As of early today the post had nearly 80 shares, was closing in on 600 likes and boasted a raucous and freewheeling comment string that went on into Tuesday, one commenter even reprising the Naked Gun "beaver scene" repartee between Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley.

Rochester's upstaging encounter with wildlife happened just hours before Animal Planet launched its "North Woods Law: New Hampshire", which included a segment about game wardens removing skunks from a Rochester property.

Not nearly as romantic as a beaver in the downtown.