November 2023 Kids’ Korner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
Beaver Homes
The end of fall is an important time for animals who are staying here through the winter. All fall they have been gathering food and preparing their shelters to make it through the harsh winter weather and cold. Beavers are no exception, and they have the added complication of an icy roof on their watery homes.
Beavers are very busy builders, constructing dams to stop water flow and deepen their pond, as well as their shelters called lodges. The lodges are constructed out of a pile of sticks under which they have hollowed out an inner chamber, partially dry ground and partially water. The beavers have 2-3 underwater entrances into their lodge which means that in winter they are restricted to underwater areas for food. Beavers eat about 2 pounds of bark a day and the number of beavers living in one lodge can be up to 10, requiring a lot of food throughout the winter. Because of this, beavers have developed a system of stocking up on branches to keep themselves fed. They fell trees, then remove branches usually 5 inches or less in diameter to drag into the pond. They often cut them to make them smaller, then pile them up. As the pile grows, the sticks on the bottom get weighed down by the sticks above and sometimes larger limbs the beavers have dragged on. This ensures that the beavers have access to sticks below the water.
Alongside their food-saving system, beavers have many adaptations that equip them for life in and out of the water. When beavers go underwater, their ears and nose close and they have a see-through eyelid called a nictitating membrane that goes over their eyes like goggles. Their fur is also waterproof thanks to the oil the beaver secretes from its castor gland and combs in. Their teeth are exceptionally good at chiseling off bark and continuously grow, needing them to be worn down. If you’re hoping to get a glimpse of a beaver, look for their lodges and dams in local ponds, wetlands, or slow rivers. You can tell a lodge is actively being used if you can see the pile of food nearby, and if there aren’t plants growing on the lodge as beavers continue to add sticks to it. Beavers are also crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. Beavers are landscape engineers, puzzling out their problems!
Want tips on how to explore beavers this November? Here are some ideas before you head outside!
Beavers are very talented at molding their landscape to fit their needs. Beavers are drawn to the sound of running water which helps them find spots to dam it up and make deeper ponds. Find a local small stream and see if you can dam it up! Use sticks, mud, leaves, or rocks to see if you can get the water to stop flowing. Make sure you take it apart when you’re done though as it might make life hard for other animals who use it.
Go on a beaver hunt. Use what you know about beavers to identify possible homes then search for the lodge, dams, and food cache.
Interested in beaver activities and crafts? We’ve got you covered!
Beavers have so many adaptations, which can be thought of as superpowers! Design and dress up as a superhero beaver with all your superpowers. You could use goggles to be the nictitating membrane, a large flat cardboard piece could become your tail. Model some long, sharp teeth!
See what you can build out of sticks. Sticks are a fun and plentiful building material that lends itself to children’s creations. You could go small scale with twigs or large scale with logs and long branches. Can you make a shelter like the beavers?
