Now here’s something you don’t see every day: A totally informative beaver article with zero mistakes AND something cool I’d never heard of before.
River Currents: No dam needed, thank you very much
The usual image of a beaver is of an animal that lives in its lodge in the center of a small pond formed behind its stick dam. That is not always the case. Beaver only build dams to enlarge the underwater habitat to insure it will remain open in winter. Beaver also live in riverbank dens. The deep water of a permanent river pool provides adequate river bottom storage for winter food and underwater access to the den secure from predators, no dam needed thank you very much.
Great start! This author, David Deen, from the Battleboro Informer must be friends with Patti Smith. Why does all the heavy beaver IQ roll downhill towards Vermont?
Native Americans called the beaver the sacred center because when beaver do dam small streams much of the flooded area becomes wetlands with biodiversity that rivals tropical rain forests, creating rich habitats for other mammals, fish, amphibians and birds.
Yes they do, David. They also improve things even in larger streams with their chewing and digging. But we’ll leave that for another day.
Beavers live up to 12 years in the wild and continue to grow throughout their lives. They can reach four feet in length including tail and weigh up to 100 pounds. A beaver takes only one mate for life and a pair will have one litter, averaging three kits, each May or June following a 100-day gestation period. Both parents care for the kits and although kits are furred, have teeth, can see, walk and swim when born, they generally do not venture out of the lodge for at least a month. Yearling kits act as babysitters for the new litter while the 2-year-olds leave home each spring to find their own territories to insure the family does not overpopulate an area.
Finally an author that understands population dynamics and size! I think I’m in love. Just wait until he gets to the new paragraph. You will be amazed. I’m putting it in large font because it’s so fascinating.
according to Dr. Donald Griffin, the father of animal cognition. An experience in point happened on a spring fishing trip. Although the strong April sun had melted the ice from the middle of the small beaver pond, it still had ice ringing its shore. This beaver was obviously tired of winter as it would swim to the ice, chisel out a dinner plate sized piece with its teeth, push it into the center of the pond and then wallop it with its tail. After three hard whacks it would turn, inspect its handiwork and if satisfied with the disintegration of that piece would go to bite off another piece of ice and do it again. Dark came before the pond was ice-free but you knew that beaver would be back at it tomorrow.
Do you understand what that means? Not only was the beaver aware of the annoyance of the ice and willing to change it just like beavers change everything else, but that beaver also knew that he could BREAK ICE with his tail! Which means he could use his tail as a tool and Disney might be right after all! (Ian will be so happy.)
Now one might dismiss this ice tale as fancy, if it were from anyone else. Dr. Griffen graduated from Harvard in the field of zoology and we have to take him somewhat seriously. He died in 2003 and was important enough to make the New York Times. I sure wish we could sit down and have a long conversation about beaver behavior. I’m sure he’d love to hear about Reed and his woven dams, and we’d all learn many more amazing things.
Just imagine what the napa kits could do with their tails!
