Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Evidence of Beaver

Driving along a secondary highway a week or so ago I saw the unmistakable signs of Beavers having been at work; logs were lying across a ditch near the highway. Wandering over the area at the edge of the woods I could see where several logs had been cut down.
I have seen this in other areas too. Beavers will build dams across rivers and streams to create ponds. Then they will build their lodge in a pond once the water has reached an adequate depth. Beavers are extremely active and use their teeth for cutting. The outside of their teeth have a very strong enamel coating and their teeth never stop growing. As they cut and chomp their teeth gradually wear down and thus this action controls their teeth's growth. In 2006 I watched the progress Beavers had made on this large poplar tree shown above. I could only see the difference made each day, as Beaver work only at night, and I have never saw one actively at work.
The photo above is of a in a most beautiful setting where beaver had built a dam. I used to watch this scene daily. If I patiently sat and watched for a long time, sometimes I would see a Beaver there, swimming about in the pond they had created.

7 comments:

  1. Busy as a beaver! Love the swimming shot....saw it in your banner for a while, but wasn't sure what it was. How long did it take to cut down that tree? Does your local governing group come along and tear out the dams when they make them because of flooding or ponds where they don't want them?

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  2. Industrious little buggers.. LOL
    We have a mom and babies close by our house. I will try to get some photos of them.. may need to set up a blind. She has them out now, I just hope the neighbors will leave them all be.. thanks for sharing.

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  3. mary:
    That pond is no longer there. It was very close to the highway and would probably have flooded over soon if the dam had not been broken.

    stacey:
    What a wonderful photo that would be of baby Beavers! Good luck in taking one.

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  4. Anonymous1:44 PM

    Beautiful post about the Beaver and lovely pond photos. I'm glad you were able to see and photograph one swimming. :)

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  5. Very beautiful shots - especially the last one. I have never been that close to a beaver. The reflections in the water of the swimming shot just make it perfect.

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  6. Wonderful pictures! It's astonishing what they can do with their teeth in a very short amount of time. It would take several men to do as much with saws. ;-)

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  7. april:
    It was only after sitting very quietly for quite a while that I would sometimes see a beaver appear.

    bobbie:
    The last photo is one of my most favourite pictures.I was very surprised with the patterns in the water when I first saw it when downloading. Glad that you liked it too.

    sandpiper:
    It is amazing and they do such a good job of it too!

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