Have you ever heard the saying “as busy as a beaver”? Well,
beavers are extremely busy animals. They are best known for building dams. A
dam is a wall of branches built across a stream.
Beavers are rodents, small mammals that have teeth for
gnawing. Beavers may grow to be 4 feet (1.22 m) long, including their at, pancake-shaped tails. They are also
quite heavy. Beavers may weigh up to 75 pounds (34 kg).
Beavers live along the banks of rivers and streams. There
they build their homes. Parts of their homes are under the water. Beaver homes
are called lodges.About eight beavers live in one lodge. Lodges are made of
sticks, twigs, logs, and mud.
A beaver’s lodge has different sections that are called
dens. There is a den for feeding and a den for sleeping. All of the dens are
above the water so that the beavers stay dry. Most lodges have two openings
that lead to the water.
Beavers also build dams. Dams block the
ow of water in a stream. The water on one
side of the stream gets deeper. The beavers build their lodges in the deeper
water because the deep water is less likely to freeze. This way beavers can get
to their lodges from under the water even in the wintertime.
The beavers line their dams with twigs, leaves, and rocks.
The dam is strong enough to slow down the
ow of water in a fast-moving stream.
Dams can also be very big. In fact, beavers have built dams
that are hundreds of feet long. So how does a beaver build such a large
structure? That’s easy—with its teeth and
at tail.
Beavers are good builders because of their strong body
parts. The fi rst thing you might notice about a beaver is its large teeth. The
beaver has four front teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. They are
very sharp at the edges.
These teeth make it easy for the beaver to chew down trees
and branches. A beaver’s teeth continue to grow throughout its life! They stay
the same length because the beaver wears them down by chewing.
Beavers use their tails to help them swim. The tails guide
them through the water. Their hind paws are large and webbed, which also helps
them swim. Their front paws are like little hands. Beavers dig mud, hold
branches, and even comb their fur with their front paws!
Beavers are very social animals. Young beavers stay with
their parents until they are about two years old.
To build a dam, beavers must fi rst cut down trees. The
beavers hug the trees with their paws, and then they begin to chew. The beaver
tilts its head to one side and takes a bite.
The beavers chomp away. Bite by bite, wood chips fall from
the tree, and soon the tree falls down. Next, the beavers chew the branches off
the tree.
In the stream, beavers lay down sticks and rocks. This will
make up the bottom of the dam. Beavers are very strong. They use their paws and
bodies to push the trees into the stream. The trees stick into the mud at the
bottom of the stream. The tangle of tree branches reels in the rushing water,
so the water in the stream begins to slow down.
The beavers build the dam higher and higher. They wind thin
strands of wood and leaves among the larger branches, and they pack the dam
with stones and mud. Soon the dam reaches across the stream.
Sometimes beavers chew down trees far away from a dam. To
get the trees to the dam, the beavers dig shallow canals, or long ditches, that
fi ll with water from the stream. The beavers push the trees into the canals,
and then the trees oat down to the dam.
Two busy beavers can build a 10-foot (3 m) dam in just a few
days! The water on one side of the dam is deep. The deep water protects the
beavers from animals that prey on them. Beavers can escape by diving into the
deep water.
When fall arrives, beavers store food for winter near their
lodges. They will need to spend a lot of time in their lodges to keep warm and
safe.
The beavers begin building a lodge by placing sticks, logs,
and stones on the bottom of the stream. Next, the beavers begin to carve out
little rooms, or dens. They dive underwater. Using their strong teeth, they
chew and chomp away. A beaver can hold its breath underwater for fi fteen
minutes! Then the beavers spiral up, cutting into the center of the lodge. The
beavers work inside the lodge until they are above the water level, and then
they create their dens.
After a swim, the beavers dry themselves off in the lower
den. They also eat their meals there. Beavers sleep in the upper den. Beavers
make their beds out of grass and bits of wood.
To keep the cold out of the lodge, beavers pack the outside
with mud. One opening is left at the top of the lodge so that air can get
inside. In the winter, the mud freezes. This keeps the air inside the lodge
warm.
In winter, the beavers are warm in their lodge. They leave
the lodge through the underwater openings to gather their favorite foods, such
as tree bark. Then they return to the lodge to eat. Each day, the beavers fi x
any holes in their dams.
During the winter, young beavers are born. They are called
kits. When springtime comes, the young beavers come out to play. For the older beavers, spring means it is
time to build again. They stay busy all year.
Busy Beaver by Dale Lundberg
