Beaver Dams

Beaver dams can be seen in rivers and streams in Europe and North America. Beavers are unique animals, because they are the only living member of the family Castoridae. The closest relative of the Beaver is the squirrel. The European and the North American Beavers are two distinct species that cannot breed. Beavers are semi-aquatic species. Their characteristic features are webbed hind feet and a broad tail. These animals are the second largest rodents after the capybara. Both European and American species reach the size of 60-80 cm without the tail. The tail length is about 25-30 cm.

Beavers are known for their talent in building their homes. Beaver dams and lodges are built to form a pond where these animals and their young are safe from predators. Beavers cannot survive without water. They never travel by land and prefer aquatic lifestyle. Their diet consists of twigs, bark and shoots of trees and the stalks and roots of some aquatic plants. These animals are active mainly at night or in the evening.

Beaver dams are the sign of the Beavers’ presence. They make tracking and hunting Beavers easier. Excessive hunting almost led to the extinction of the species in Europe. Beavers were killed for their fur and for a secretion of their scent glands, castoreum, used in medicine. In Great Britain, Beavers were hunted to extinction in the 16th century. Nowadays, Beaver colonies are reintroduced in Scandinavia, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Bavaria, the Netherlands and some parts of the Great Britain. The American (or Canadian) Beaver has no special conservation status, though it was trapped in large numbers by early settlers who hunted these large animals for both fur and meat. Nowadays, it inhabits much of the USA, Canada and parts of Mexico.

It’s very difficult to see Beavers at work, as they build their dams at night. They carry stones and mud with their forepaws, use driftwood, and gnaw on trees to get timber. Wood and stones mixed with mud contribute to the strength of the dam. If a dam is destroyed, a Beaver family can rebuild it overnight. A dam is used for many years. Beaver dams can be very large, with the largest recorded dam approximately 850 m long.