If you’re anything like me you’ve been pacing back and forth across the bridges and along the banks and wondering where in the heck our new beaver dams are. Maybe you’ve counted available trees, scrap logs or remaining reeds and measured water height with a nail file and wondered when these crazy beavers will ever decide the time is right. I have been talking myself into a state worrying that our orphans our just not up to the task or are too traumatized by their ordeal to settle down to business.
I try to remind myself that damming is instinctual, and that our kits have already proven TWICE that they know what to do. I remember that in Audrey’s wonderful book, the orphan Tariq (who lost all his family at a much younger age and was raised by humans) started all by himself making a dam in her living room out of a newspaper and a bathrobe.
I try to be patient and I look for the words of other beaver watchers far and wee. I thought I’d pass some along that were particularly helpful.
Bob Arnebeck is a wildlife watcher and historian living in upstate New York who maintains some lovely species journals online. He was the first ‘expert’ I wrote about our beavers in 2007. Bob doesn’t much believe in flow devices, or beaver deceivers. He doesn’t get involved in beaver politics or write letters to foolish conservation commissions. He doesn’t tag their tails or do research to count population growth. He just watches beavers. Really watches. In the summer. In the snow. In the rain. He watches beavers and has watched them for a long time. As a result he has some of the best observations I’ve ever come across. Knowledgable beaver defenders Sharon Brown and Sherri Tippie add their wisdom as well.
From my meager experience with beavers recovering from dam failure, they do put a high priority on eating. Two beavers now are driving me crazy as they continue to nibble away behind a dam with a gaping hole without making a move to patch it. I saw them sunning on the lodge the other day as if there is no problem.
These beavers have no problem with flowing water, which must be the main problem your beavers face. Have the water level and velocity dropped to the same level as when they first built the dam? In the repair jobs I’ve seen, when water was flowing a bit fast, the beavers built a temporary dam below the dam they were repairing, backing some water up to it to lessen the velocity of the water. In a more panicky reaction in another pond, they built small dams above the main dam but that was to preserve some depth around the lodge. Another variable might be if there is a pregnant beaver or kits just born. I’d like to say that beavers only abandon their ponds on their own terms, not from acts of God and man, but one family did. This was in mid-May after a downpour and strong winds busted the dam a second time. They must have taken their newborns to another pond. However, they went back to a pond they moved from two years ago so it was still their territory.
Since you guys know these beavers so well, can you read their body language? I fancy that beavers do have a way of looking at things before they take on a major project like building a new dam or lodge. I assume with so many humans around your beavers have given up slapping their tails. It would be interesting to know if the catastrophe has made them more touchy. I got a sinking feeling once, after getting some sharps slaps from beavers who should know me, that they blamed me for the failure of their dam!
Anyway, from afar, things on your end don’t sound hopeless, and you should get your dam back, unless these beavers have very extensive territory and there is another likely place in it to relocate. Good luck! All the best, Bob
Heidi, At this time of year, when – as you said – the weather is beautiful and the water is still fast, there’s not a lot of incentive to rebuild at once. They’ve got their bank burrow and why risk another dam right now? Glad you’ve still got three kits. Often it’s the dad alone who does the building. Be patient. Sharon Brown (Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife)
Heidi, I’ve seen that in a couple places where beaver don’t rebuild back right away. Girl, all I can say is you just have to wait as see. It’s all really up to them. The adult male could have been washed away again keep an eye out for him. Sub-adults should have some building experience. Hopefully they will get on the ball and start doing it. You know, having your home and dam destroyed has to be a bit devastating maybe they just have to get their heads together. I wish I had some better information for you. I’m wearing your shirt and I love you Girl.. . Aways, Sherri Tippie
To summarize: beavers find a way, sit tight and trust them. Well, I’m trying, but it’s much harder work than I’m used to. Gooooooooo beavers!
Oh and an update on the lodge-cam beavers in the Tongass National Forest in Juneau. I noticed the error message and wrote to inquire about the movie star beavers. Pete wrote back
Our equipment box where the power and video cables are buried got flooded. The ground is frozen and it’s been raining. We’re not sure if anything is ruined yet, but it’s going to be a few days before we can restore/replace things. Those little stinkers haven’t been hanging out in front of the camera lately anyway. We tried to adjust the cam a bit, but it has been frozen in place.
Pete J Schneider Acting Aquatics Program Manager
