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And have fun doing it.
Dam Beaver!
While touring Acadia National Park, taking in a large clearing in the woods surrounded by a sizable pond, I have to admit I was shocked to learn the origin of this interesting landscape…
The idiom “eager beaver” cloaks itself in no mystery whatsoever to its origin. A single beaver can embark on and successfully complete a civic works project of epic proportions. In fact, I’d bet a team of beavers could have landed a rocket in a catcher’s mitt a good six months earlier than the rocket surgeons at SpaceX.
Want to create a pond (or arguably a small lake) where none exists? Hire a beaver. That beaver will fell shockingly large trees, cut and relocate lumber, and build a full-scale dam in no time, effectively blocking and backing up the flow of a natural stream until a new lake is ready for the next Google Earth update.
In the case of my Acadia adventure, the civic works project was completed by a single beaver of size not much different than the average family dog.
So, what possesses a beaver to inflict untold destruction on a forest, creating a lake where there was none?
Home Defense
Kings of old saw the defensive value of surrounding their homes with a water-filled moat. As it turns out, beavers share the same instinct.
By blocking even a small but steady stream with felled trees and other debris, a beaver can create a sizeable pond. Once that’s accomplished, a hollowed-out den in the middle, complete with an underwater entrance, prevents predators like bears, wolves, coyotes and the like from approaching, much less entering the beaver’s abode.
This island home covers almost all of the bases in the first two levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs—shelter and security.
The Pantry
To round out those first two levels, we need to add sustenance and seeing how beavers dine on bark, leaves and other plant growth, the deep water environment offers two significant advantages to the beaver cafe.
A beaver can take down a shockingly large tree, in some cases up top 30 inches in diameter, although about a foot is the more common limit. Felling heavy trees into the water allows for easier transport of building materials and food closer to the beaver’s home or for dam improvements. Smart beaver, using the available hydraulic technology…
The second benefit of creating a deep-water pond is related to long-term food storage. Especially as winter moves in, the cold, deep water serves as an excellent Frigidaire, keeping the food supply (relatively) fresh and preserved.
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So, the next time you see the results of a beaver’s work, remember they’re not just pranking the humans by blocking up the creeks: they’re nature’s original engineers!
