BEAVER
Has anyone every told you that "you are as busy as a beaver"? Beavers are busy most all the time. They reengineer the landscape better than any other animals. Beaver like to burrow into the banks of rivers and lakes. They can make an unsuitable habitat into a nice home by building dams and creating ponds.
Beavers are among the largest rodents. They are herbivores or plant eaters. They dine on bark, twigs, roots and aquatic plants. Soft bark is their favorite food; however, they will eat poplar trees, carrots, cattails, mushrooms, potatoes, berries, and fruit. Sometime a beaver will even sit up like your dog and eat just like you do when you eat corn on the cob!
Beavers can swim underwater. They have very large lungs and can hold their breath for about 15 minutes. When they swim, they use their tail as a rudder. If they turn their tail to the right the beaver will go left and if they turn their tail to the left they will turn right. When beavers go under water they have special valves in their ears and nose that close and block the water. They also have an extra set of eyelids that act like goggles under the water. Beavers are very graceful in the water, but they are ungainly and waddle on the land. They have large webbed rear feet that act like swim fins. This helps them to swim up to 5 miles an hour.
A beaver's home is called a lodge. A lodge can be 10 - 20 feet around and 5 - 8 feet tall. The lodge has several doorways or entrances underwater. By putting the entrances underwater, the beavers are protected from predators. The lodge is make of sticks, logs, mud, and leaves.
Beavers protect themselves by diving under water. Humans are the main enemy of the beaver; however wolves will hunt beaver. When a beaver is on land looking for food it is in danger. Coyotes, bobcats, bears and sometimes even wild dogs will attack a beaver. Beavers are hard for an animal to kill if they can reach the water. Sometimes a beaver will even bite an enemy and drag it into the water to drown it.
Beavers communicate with a very weak voice. They also communicate by leaving a scent post. This is a small hill made of grass and mud. They then put musk-smelling oils from their castor glands on the hill. The smell attracts beavers and other animals. This scent also helps them to find a mate.
Beavers can swim underwater. They have very large lungs and can hold their breath for about 15 minutes. When they swim, they use their tail as a rudder. If they turn their tail to the right the beaver will go left and if they turn their tail to the left they will turn right. When beavers go under water they have special valves in their ears and nose that close and block the water. They also have an extra set of eyelids that act like goggles under the water. Beavers are very graceful in the water, but they are ungainly and waddle on the land. They have large webbed rear feet that act like swim fins. This helps them to swim up to 5 miles an hour.
A beaver's home is called a lodge. A lodge can be 10 - 20 feet around and 5 - 8 feet tall. The lodge has several doorways or entrances underwater. By putting the entrances underwater, the beavers are protected from predators. The lodge is make of sticks, logs, mud, and leaves.
Beavers protect themselves by diving under water. Humans are the main enemy of the beaver; however wolves will hunt beaver. When a beaver is on land looking for food it is in danger. Coyotes, bobcats, bears and sometimes even wild dogs will attack a beaver. Beavers are hard for an animal to kill if they can reach the water. Sometimes a beaver will even bite an enemy and drag it into the water to drown it.
Beavers communicate with a very weak voice. They also communicate by leaving a scent post. This is a small hill made of grass and mud. They then put musk-smelling oils from their castor glands on the hill. The smell attracts beavers and other animals. This scent also helps them to find a mate.
