Lois McNaught
Beaver
It's so much fun to watch these busy little beavers! This one is sitting on its lodge gnawing away at the twigs on top.
Thank you, my kind Flickr friends, for visiting my site and taking the time to leave a comment. Truly appreciated!
A beaver is a large rodent, or gnawing animal. Like all other rodents, the beaver has four chisel-shaped front teeth called "incisors". It is with these teeth that it cuts trees and bushes for food and for building dams. The beaver lives on wood, branches, saplings, and the roots of water plants.
Why do beavers build dams? The beaver lives in the water and it remains active all winter. Therefore, it needs a pool of water deep enough not to freeze quite to the bottom during the winter. So it builds a dam to raise the water level of the pond or stream in which it lives!
To build a dam, beavers place willow, alder, or other brush on the bottom of the stream. This is held in place with mud and stones. As the dam grows in height, sticks and branches may be placed in any position. Often the twigs take root and wind together and help to make the dam strong.
To cut a tree, the beaver gnaws two notches, one above the other. It pries out the wood between the notches with its teeth. Only one or two bites are needed to cut a stick 2 centimeters thick. Trees about 25 centimeters thick are used. A tree this size may be cut in one night. Generally trees with soft wood are used, such as the poplar, cotton wood, alder, willow, or birch.
Since beavers eat only the inner bark of trees and bushes, they may use the peeled sticks and logs to strengthen the dam. A dam is usually not more than two meters high, but it may be extremely long.The home of the beaver is called a "lodge." It may be a stick-covered shelter in the stream bank or a house of sticks and logs built in a shallow part of the pond. The floor of the room is just above the water line and is covered with weeds or shredded wood. The entrances are all under water.
In late summer and autumn, the beaver collects food for the winter. So brush, branches, and logs are cut and stored underwater near the lodge. These food supplies are sometimes over one meter high and contain hundreds of branches and saplings.
Beaver
It's so much fun to watch these busy little beavers! This one is sitting on its lodge gnawing away at the twigs on top.
Thank you, my kind Flickr friends, for visiting my site and taking the time to leave a comment. Truly appreciated!
A beaver is a large rodent, or gnawing animal. Like all other rodents, the beaver has four chisel-shaped front teeth called "incisors". It is with these teeth that it cuts trees and bushes for food and for building dams. The beaver lives on wood, branches, saplings, and the roots of water plants.
Why do beavers build dams? The beaver lives in the water and it remains active all winter. Therefore, it needs a pool of water deep enough not to freeze quite to the bottom during the winter. So it builds a dam to raise the water level of the pond or stream in which it lives!
To build a dam, beavers place willow, alder, or other brush on the bottom of the stream. This is held in place with mud and stones. As the dam grows in height, sticks and branches may be placed in any position. Often the twigs take root and wind together and help to make the dam strong.
To cut a tree, the beaver gnaws two notches, one above the other. It pries out the wood between the notches with its teeth. Only one or two bites are needed to cut a stick 2 centimeters thick. Trees about 25 centimeters thick are used. A tree this size may be cut in one night. Generally trees with soft wood are used, such as the poplar, cotton wood, alder, willow, or birch.
Since beavers eat only the inner bark of trees and bushes, they may use the peeled sticks and logs to strengthen the dam. A dam is usually not more than two meters high, but it may be extremely long.The home of the beaver is called a "lodge." It may be a stick-covered shelter in the stream bank or a house of sticks and logs built in a shallow part of the pond. The floor of the room is just above the water line and is covered with weeds or shredded wood. The entrances are all under water.
In late summer and autumn, the beaver collects food for the winter. So brush, branches, and logs are cut and stored underwater near the lodge. These food supplies are sometimes over one meter high and contain hundreds of branches and saplings.