The Mighty Castor - part II

Beavers can have up to 8 young . They are called "kits" and they stay with their families up to the age of two. That means that there should always be a family group around the beaver home.

Depending on location, their family homes can differ. Many are represented by the typical lodges surrounded by swamps and ponds with a number of beaver-built walls where water can be let in or out in order to maintain system of ponds and swamps. 

Let them work and soon a dry valley will undergo a very noticeable change.

 
They will keep on building the walls and damming little streams, constantly maintaining the works and adding some more until there is a complex system of ponds and gates that can be closed or opened to allow water to collect or to drain.

 

Humans might not appreciate the beavers' engineering efforts but for the rest of the natural world the beavers have created new environment. The plants will grow and where there are algae, grasses and sedges and willows, there is animal life. From amphibians to birds to the large mammals they will slowly move in to colonize the new landscape. 

 This would represent a typical beaver lodge. It is built from branches and mud that freezes in the winter (therefore they add more mud on the top of the lodge before the first snowfall). The frozen mud forms a very hard layer and the snow on the top insulates the lodge.
Inside, there is a chamber with flat floor -  all placed well above the water level so the animals stay warm and dry.

A tunnel descends down from the chamber and under the water so the beaver can sneak out without being seen or heard. Inside it looks somewhat like the white part of the photo. 

Maybe there is another tunnel as an emergency escape - I am not sure on this one but it would make sense.

The outside opening into the tunnel is always under the water - unless the water level drops down (like this one on Brilliant Dam on Kootenay River) - I am sure that for the time being the beavers were less than impressed with the entrance being exposed.

This would be the normal state of this particular lodge. 

Now, I am looking at the size of the logs and trees that the beavers used - they are very strong for their size and they can manipulate their building materials with dexterity and patience. I cannot picture myself (5 or 6x the beaver's mass) maneuvering such logs into the places.


As mentioned above, in Fall they reinforce the lodge with mud. Again - this is no little mole hill. And the amount of mud they need to collect and then place on the top of those logs just blows my mind. They work hard and mostly unseen, during the hours of human supper and sleep.

And then... let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.



When Spring turnes into Summer another layer of wood goes up. Then mud, then snow ......

What happens inside the lodge as it grows bigger? I don't know if  they enlarge the chambers as well ....?

No wonder they say: Busy Beaver, ....

And all of the above is only about building the lodge. I have not even mentioned all the branches stored in the water for the winter to come. 

As for the trees, the beaver's choices would be the aspen, the alder, and birch although as seen in the photo red cedar and other species will do as well. What's neat is that most of these species have the ability to sprout back.



They say that the beaver's incisors are so strong that they can chop off a "sliver" the size of a man's hand. 

Ouch. 

Thankfully they are vegetarian.





The above lodge  was built in a quiet bay of ever flowing Kootenay River. There was no way for the beavers to copy what  people have already done to the river several times: to dam it. 

This lodge is just a waterfront condo built by several beaver generations. 





There are other waterfronts in the area - not as fancy as the lodge above: 
just some modest bachelors' suites inside the river bank.





In other places however, the beavers dam entire valleys, changing the environment for the benefit of all. The amphibians and reptiles, birds and the moose, deer, bear and many bugs and plants alike.