Beaver

 

Sometime last week I signed up for a webinar put on by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency about beavers. Unfortunately I could not get the Webex to work right so I missed it. Tonight I got an email saying I could watch it on YouTube so I did. A DNR expert talked about beavers for almost an hour. Did you know beavers have lips behind their teeth so they can swim with a log and not get water in their mouth? I didn't know that and I think it is rather convenient. He said beavers are controversial and often get into trouble with humans. I believe that is true. They change the grade of a stream from being a steady down hill slope to more of a stair case slope which can be good because it traps rain, reduces flooding (overall), increases the types of wetlands, and traps more carbon. Beavers prefer aspen to alder, birch and other deciduous trees. They will eat conifers but if they do that indicates they are living in a nutritionally poor environment. Beavers mate in February and give birth in May. Beavers can give birth as early as 2 years of age but are most productive between 4 and 6 years of age. The beaver is a rodent. The orange stained teeth are strong in the front but white and softer bone underneath which helps keep their teeth shaped like chisels. He showed a picture of a beaver chewing on a tree with it's neck turned sideways. He said he would get a sore neck if he had to do that for an hour. The beavers in North America range from the tundra down into Mexico. Only the arid south west and Florida don't have beavers. The Pacific northwest has a different species of beaver that is only 4 to 6 pounds, can climb trees, and doesn't use water. Our beavers weigh an average of 40 pounds. The prehistoric beaver weighed 500 pounds. Woah, scary. Europe has a different species of beaver. Again, we humans made a mistake and sent North American beavers to Europe. Now the two kinds of beavers have interbred which is not good. The speaker was knowledgeable and interesting.