This illumination depicts a group of hunters pursuing beavers. It appears in an English medieval bestiary, a compendium of animal lore, iconography, and proto-zoological illustrations. In this image, one beaver is castrated, and he is bleeding freely. His genitalia are located in the hand of one of the hunters. A hunter aggressively gestures with his hand and spear towards the other beaver who is in the act of castrating himself with his teeth. According to a myth which dates back to Aesop, the beaver was a peaceful creature whose testicles were key to the preparation of many remedies. This meant that it was regularly the prey of hunters. However because the animal knew why it was being pursued, it would mutilate itself and throw its genitalia in the face of the hunter in order to keep from being killed. If the animal was hunted again after its castration, it would stand upright or lie on its back to display its castration scar, thereby causing the hunters to lose interest.