Beavers are famous for building dams out
of trees and branches that they cut using their strong front teeth, and they also use grass, stones, and mud to reinforce these structures.
However
, one question always hovers around the same question, why do beavers build dams?
Do they live in them?
Beavers build dams to stay safe, which is especially difficult considering their clumsy body shape and gangly nature.
Plague of beavers in Tierra del Fuego National Park.
Why do beavers build dams?
"Beavers are 40 to 80-pound stinky bags of meat with very short legs," explained Chris Jordan, a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Newport, Oregon.
This makes them easy prey.
"
When beavers are on land, they are very clumsy and vulnerable, like big waddling pieces of chicken that any predator would be happy to eat
," said Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California Channel Islands State University in Camarillo, California. ).
Fairfax added that "when in the water, beavers are almost invincible. They are excellent swimmers and
can hold their breath for 10 to 15 minutes
."
By building a dam, you create a pond, and that pond is your safety zone."
Beavers constantly build dams to protect themselves.
These bodies of water are deep enough for beavers "to hide from predators like
cougars, bears, wolves and coyotes
," Jordan explains.
In addition,
dams can also flood areas to bring beavers closer to their main food source
.
This includes tree bark, leaves and branches, as well as aquatic plants, according to a King County, Washington, informational pamphlet.
On the other hand, "beavers dig extensive networks of canals behind their dams to distribute the water," Jordan explains.
This can safely bring them closer to trees, but it also helps "carry larger chunks of food and building materials back to their shelter, prey, and food stash."
Although the dams protect the beavers, they do not live inside these structures.
According to the Animal Diversity online database, a site of the University of Michigan, they usually live in oven-shaped shelters made of sticks, moss and mud, built on the banks of ponds.
In these shelters they reside in family groups,
known as colonies, made up of an average of five beavers, says the King County page.
Beavers.
They reside in family groups in the tunnels.
The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), which lives in Europe and Asia, is slightly larger than the American beaver.
However, it
also builds dams, shelters, and canals.
Not everything is bad.
In fact, beaver dams help ecosystems as they not only benefit their creators, but many other species as well.
"
Beaver dams help slow down the water and keep it in the landscape longer
," Fairfax explained.
"This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems. The amount of food and water available in their wetlands makes them ideal habitats for many different species. This is partly why beavers are what's known as a keystone species."
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