With all of three months under their beaver belts, our kit triumvirate have developed a new skill which they practice with great regularity. Lets call it the “sneaking up skill.” It used to be that our kits would swim into view like hollywood dancers in a chorus line, as flashy and look-at-me as you please. Now they emerge more quietly, eye the destination, and fill their little lungs with air to dive under and swim towards it. Sometimes only a line of bubbles marks their arrival. This breath holding and bubble blowing is a skill to develop along with diving and powering underwater. They blow far more bubbles than dad, for example. Adult beavers can slow their heart rates and take their body systems down to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes. Our three could never manage that, because by the time they “pop” out of the water, they are eager to breathe and eat.
Still, its a huge achievement, and its funny to see them use it, in every arrival without exception, for the last 10 days. For a reminder of how beavers propel themselves in water check out this video. The water has been weirdly clear and you have a great view of his working feed, paddling away.
Remember if you come to beaver watch that you might be sitting sadly thinking that there is no beaver activity when suddenly POP a beaver will emerge like an unexpected U-boat in a grainy WWII movie. It makes your watching job that much more challenging!
