Beavers, like pit bull dogs, more often than not, only make the news when there is a problem. With the hope of changing the public perception of beavers being labeled ’nuisance’ animals, this article will take a brief look at their life and explain the importance and significance of beavers in our regional ecosystem. First, a little history. Beavers have been part of the New England landscape for thousands of years. They once numbered greater than 60 million but now are 10 million. The commercial trapping of beavers, due to the demand for their fur, started in Massachusetts in 1636 at a trading post in Springfield. Beavers were an easy prey because of their sedentary nature and the ease of finding their lodges. So successful were the first trappers that by the beginning of the 1700’s there were no beaver lodges in Massachusetts. By 1850 beavers were exterminated from all of New England. Beavers were first reintroduced to New England in southern Vermont in 1921. It took until 1979, 58 years later, before the first beaver activity was detected in the Ipswich River. In 1991 a beaver dam was sighted at the Mill Pond property of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. Now, their populations are again climbing. Beavers are mostly nocturnal herbivores eating aquatic plants and the bark of trees. After they strip the bark, they use the wood to build dams and lodges, or they bring the twigs back to their lodge and cache it in the mud on the bottom of their lodge to eat during the winter. Dams are built so that the water level rises to protect their lodges from predators and also to get to the next level of trees safely on the banks of the wetlands they create. Their slow gait on land makes them an easy target for foxes, coyotes and other predators so it is necessary for their food supply to be as close as possible to water. Some interesting facts about beavers: Beaver’s teeth are orange. Their long incisors get their orange color from an iron-rich coating of enamel. They grow continuously throughout their life but daily use keeps them self- sharpened and trimmed. The average weight of a beaver is between 40 to 60 pounds. The heaviest known beaver was 110 pounds. Beavers are another of the rare mammals that mate for life. The life span of a wild beaver is approximately 10 years. Beavers slap their tails against the surface of water to warn family members of danger. They also use their tails as a rudder in water and as a balance prop on land. We have all heard the old saying, “Busy as a beaver”. The fact is that beavers are indeed busy and capable of felling an 8’ tree in 5 minutes. In water, they can swim up to 6 miles per hour. Their oversized lungs allow them to stay submerged for up to 15 minutes while traveling over half a mile. Their rear feet are webbed and work well in water while their front feet are digited and work well on land. Beavers are social animals that form strong family bands. Each group is made up of one breeding pair, this year’s kits (babies) and yearlings, (last year’s offspring). Beavers are a keystone species, a species that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Beavers build and create one of the richest and most diverse ecological environments in our region. Through the building of their dams and lodges they are responsible for the creation of a rich assortment of wetland ecosystems. Without them, these valuable ecosystems and all their inhabitants would disappear. The wetland environment they establish and maintain provides habitat for many sensitive plant and animal species while ameliorating water quality. Their dams filter pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides and fertilizers. Ponds and wetlands created by beavers attract a wide variety of other fur bearing animals including mink, muskrat and racoons. Their pond building skills dramatically increase biodiversity by creating habitat for wildlife species including fish, ducks, amphibians, turtles, frogs, herons and reptiles. Beavers stay in a pond only as long as their source of food, tree bark from willows, aspens, cottonwoods oaks, ashes and sugar maples, is plentiful and easy to obtain. Their chief building materials are the same trees as their preferred foods. Once their source of food is about 200 feet from the pond’s edge beavers abandon their dam and lodge and move on to another area. This whole process can take anywhere from 5 to 20 years. The abandoned pond over time may become a marsh or meadow dominated by sedges, rushes and cattails. In time, this marsh may become a shrubby swamp with willows, alders, dogwoods and viburnums. With the further increase and buildup of organic matter, the swamp may dry enough to support a forest of trees that are tolerant of wet conditions such as maples, oaks and aspens. Thus, we must thank the beaver. For without its presence and activity this incredible cycle of successional change and intense ecological diversity would not exist in our environment. In New England, there simply is no other species that is capable of creating such a rich habitat upon which so many other diverse species are dependent. NOTE: The top three species on this planet that are capable of significantly modifying and altering their environment are, in order of extent of change, humans, elephants and the beaver. Only the second and third species change their environment in such a way that is beneficial not only to them but to all the other species, including plant, insect and animal, that live in the same ecosystem. Humans historically have changed their environment for their own purposes, often with short sighted goals that are both detrimental to the environment they live on and to the lives of other species that might share that space with them. NEXT BLOG: The Importance of Native Plants
4 Comments
Paula Jones
7/12/2021 05:57:35 am
Fascinating article... the keystone category is intriguing.
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7/28/2021 01:36:30 pm
Hi Paula, It turns out that keystone species whether they be wolves, elephants, sea otters, or beavers are just being studied for their all out importance in the ecosystems where they live. As humans, we are so slow on catching on how mother nature has spun her intricate webs of life and connections.
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Jimbo
8/5/2021 02:11:57 pm
I believe it is polar bears, not poplar bears. Totally agree with your tree and plant choices and beavers are one of our favorite creatures! Excellent blogtoday!
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8/5/2021 04:56:18 pm
Thank you Jimbo for your response and for catching 'poplar' bears! Happy you enjoyed the blogs. And beavers are one of my favorite creatures as well! Happy you agree on the choice of native plant choices. Catherine
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