Have you ever seen a 100 pound wet rat? The first time I spotted a large
male beaver on Cedar Creek, (Mineral County, Montana) that’s exactly
what I thought it was. I looked again, perhaps the gangly creature
waddling down the bank was a bear cub. My next thought was, where is
Mama Bear?
Have you ever seen a 100 pound wet rat? The first time I spotted a
large male beaver on Cedar Creek, (Mineral County, Montana) that’s
exactly what I thought it was. I looked again, perhaps the gangly
creature waddling down the bank was a bear cub. My next thought was,
where is Mama Bear?
Meeting the beaver was a unique and rather unsettling experience.
Movies and cartoons have often portrayed beavers as industrious, cheeky
and tenacious. Beavers are all of that, however; in the wild they are
also just plain ugly.
Beaver (Castor canadensis), semi-aquatic mammals, are the largest
rodents in North America, north of Panama and they are the second
largest rodent in the entire world (after the capybara). They are
closely related to rats, squirrels and marmots. Beavers have an average
lifespan of 12-15 years, however; beavers over 20 years old are not
uncommon. Mature beavers normally weigh from 40 to 60 pounds, however
many will reach a weight of close to 100 lbs.
In the water they are amazingly swift and graceful, slapping the
water surface in frivolous play. Diving and cavorting, beavers use
muscled, webbed rear feet to swiftly propel their torpedo-shaped bodies
through the water. Their broad, dorsally flattened tail provides
extreme mobility and maneuverability. Out of water the beaver is a
clumsy, rather slow hump-backed creature.
A typical beaver family unit consists of a pair of adults, the
yearlings and kits. Beavers will have 4-6 kits after a 105-107 day
gestation period. Beavers breed from January through March. At about
two years old, young beavers will either leave of their own accord or
are driven from the parental home colony to seek new winter quarters.
Beavers once lived in most forested areas of the North American
Continent. If one could find a stream, lake or river, one could most
always find a beaver colony. Excessive fur trapping in the late 1800′s
and early 1900′s nearly eradicated the beaver in Montana. Today, most
colonies are found in remote regions where their activities do not
interact with man.
“Nature’s engineers?, beavers have the ability to build dams and to
modify the landscape to increase its suitability for their habitation.
Beavers often build huge conical lodges at the edge of a lake or pond
or will sometimes burrow into the bank of larger rivers. Beaver
dam-building activities are integral components of the ecosystem as
they play an important part in natural water flow and erosion control.
Beaver ponds also provide recreational opportunities such as hunting
and fishing.
In Montana, beaver problems can occur wherever there are trees,
water and man. Most conflicts with beaver occur in areas where beaver
cause problems by flooding pasture land, roadways or restrict water
flow of streams. Sometimes beaver are really an annoying pest when they
girdle ornamental or landscape trees or undermine property with their
burrowing.
Since I viewed my first beaver on Cedar Creek, the US Forest Service
has trapped the Cedar Creek Colony for relocation and demolished the
dam. Unfortunately, their dam construction was causing flooding
upstream and washing out the roadbed.
Intelligent creatures, beavers construct stick and mud dams in order
to build their lodges in the resulting ponds. The lodge provides
protection from marauding bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars. Working
primarily at night, these nocturnal creatures are hardworking, prolific
builders, carrying stones and mud with their powerful fore-paws and
twigs and branches between their teeth. The beaver’s chisel sharp and
rock strong incisors grow continuously. These guys are really
industrious! The largest beaver dam on record was discovered near Three
Forks, Montana. Visible by satellite, it is 2,140 feet long, 14 feet
high and 23 feet thick at the base. Amazing!
Beaver ponds play a significant role in the formation of Montana’s
plant and animal habitat. Beaver dams create ponds that help stabilize
water tables and help reduce rapid rain runoff. Beaver dams reduce soil
erosion and improve soil quality, with runoff deposits settling into
quiet pools near their dams. Beaver habitat is rich in plant, aquatic
and animal life, making beaver ponds an excellent locale for observing
nature.
Hindered by very poor eyesight, beavers compensate by having highly
developed senses of smell and touch as well as exceptional hearing.
When startled or frightened, beavers will use their flat and scaly
broad tails to loudly slap the water as a signal of danger. In response
to the alarm, which can be heard over a considerable distance both
above and below the water, the beaver colony will “dive for cover? and
may not re-emerge until some invisible sense gives them an “all clear?.
The Salish Indian Tribe that lives in Northwest Montana has a tribal
legend that says beavers are fallen Indians, doomed to the lowly state
of a beaver by the Great Spirit.
Strict herbivores, beavers will feast on a wide variety of
herbaceous and woody plants. They enjoy wild berries in season and
especially crave the water lilies found in many alpine ponds and lakes.
Cottonwood, willow, aspen and alder are important foods, much of which
is stored in caches for winter consumption. Beaver will also gnaw and
harvest birch and maple trees.
A staple of Native Americans and early settlers, beaver meat is
fine-grained, deep red, moist and tender. When properly prepared,
beaver meat is similar in flavor to roast pork. The high fat content of
the succulent tail meat is especially savored.
Prized by hunters and trappers for its sleek, warm pelage, the
beaver’s value as a fur animal lead to the early exploration of the
North America Continent. Rich chocolate brown in color with black to
reddish guard hairs, beaver pelts are soft, extremely dense and have
excellent insulating qualities. At one time considered the most
valuable of furs, beaver was also trapped for its castor glands which
produce castoreum , a highly sought product used in making perfume. In
Montana the beaver is an official furbearer and is managed and
protected by regulated fur harvests.
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