KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Clearly, this isn’t the work of a professional tree trimming service. The changing landscape of a peninsula at Asylum Lake Preserve is due to these furry creatures below that stand at about 3 feet tall.

“Beavers are doing what they do,” said Kathryn M. Docherty, an associate professor of biological science at Western Michigan University.

Docherty hikes Asylum Lake Preserve about once a week, and says she followed the progression of the beaver habitat there for about a year.

“It’s been really interesting to see ecological processes in action on this sort of slow time scale,” Docherty said. “I would imagine what they might start doing is dragging those trees into the water, to start building a dam across the lake to the other peninsula that comes out of semi-dry land.”

Yes it is very interesting to watch beavers. I happen to be able to testify to that personally. I since she said the beavers might build a dam I had to go see if there was an inlet that fed it. Of course there is and a string of lakes along it. Things start out so easy for a beaver in Michigan.

The dam would transform the area between the peninsulas into more of a wetland, leading to a major ecosystem change, but one that would benefit the environment there.

“What beavers tend to do, is they tend to increase ecosystem heterogeneity,” said Docherty. “So, they’ll increase the different types of habitats in an ecosystem by changing some of its structure.”

“Just be aware that these trees are in a precarious position, and they haven’t been professionally cut by a human to try to ensure human safety,” said Docherty. “They’re cut by a wild animal.”

A wild animal that according to Docherty, might ultimately lead to wildly different life at the nearby lake.

Amen to that. Keep talking and teaching Docherty. And listen up Kalamazoo because you’re in for a treat! PS if you happen to click on this video STAY for the Nicholas brothers because man-o-man are they a talent.