Well, you know the old story. Famous nature group wants to do a piece on beavers and talk to our ‘biologist’ but settles for me, and then this famous nature group scurries off to talk to the real players and then crawls back and asks for some photos. Because they come to the stunning conclusion that ours are better than anyone else’s and document the dramatic changes the beavers make!
Ya ya ya, of course they do. Because in our non-biologist ways we actually watched things and observed the changes. Because scientists are more focused on data and we were more focused on SEEING. Surprised?
Anyway, it looks like we can expect a fun beaver article from the big wigs soon, so I’m happy. Until then we can make do with this nice report from the New York Adirondack.
Beavers: Nature’s Architects and Engineers
Beavers are the great architects of American ponds and streams. The North American beaver competes with the Eurasian beaver to be the 2nd largest rodent in the world, after another semi-aquatic mammal, the South American Capybara.
More than any other mammal, the industrious and hard working beavers have the greatest impact on water bodies, with their tree harvesting, manipulation and dam building. The purpose of dam building is to create lakes or ponds of sufficient depth to allow beavers underwater access to their lodges if and when the water surface freezes in winter, as well as to keep predators like wolves, coyotes, cougars or bears from approaching or breaking into the lodge for access to the beavers.
Beaver ponds naturally produce a huge and beneficial support habitat for everything from invertebrates, fish, crayfish, frogs, newts, snakes and turtles to predators like otters, minks, weasels and bears, as well as osprey, eagles, ducks, geese, etc. so the same factors which seem to make beavers a headache for farmers and land owners, provide a rich biodiversity for the flourishing of a wide range of plants, crustaceans and animals. Beaver ponds act as one of nature’s best filters, removing sediments and pollutants from water, including total suspended solids, total nitrogen, phosphates, carbon and silicates.
Why yes they do! Nice of you to notice. Someday this message will catch on I keep thinking.
They also provide game for hunters and fishermen, and a place to drink for deer and other mammals like moose, who browse the sodium rich water plants, often diving beneath the water surface to access the plants. Car accidents with moose are usually caused by moose coming up onto the road to lick the salt we spray around to melt the ice.
If the aim of trapping beavers is to eliminate them, trapping backfires because the same habitat which attracted the beavers in the first place, will attract other beavers, who will rebuild the dams and infrastructure. This is why beaver deceivers are such a useful invention, as they preserve the beaver’s habitat, and all of its benefits, while preventing too many acres from being absorbed into the beaver’s habitat. Working with the beavers is generally a win-win for all parties.
Yup! And this is the way I wish all beaver stories would end!
