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Trail Ridge -- Beaver
Ponds |
| Beaver Lodge Beaver often dam streams to form ponds like this.
They then build burrows or bank dens at the pond's edge -- or lodges make of
logs, timbers, and sod where the pond is 6 to 9 feet (2-3 m) deep. Surrounded
by water, the lodges protect these large rodents from most predators. One large room inside -- accessible by underwater passages -- houses a beaver family which usually consists of two adults, 2 to 3 yearlings and 3 to 4 kits, or newborns. Within this room the adults build a nest lined with grass and shredded bark as a nursery for their young. Living together in the lodge help beaver stay warm when the winter encases the pond in ice. Underwater entrances allow them to swim beneath the ice to gather aspen, willow, and alder boughs they anchored to the pond's bottom in the fall for winter's food source. See photograph from Rainbow Curve. |
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