by 
Beavers are known for building dams, which the animals build from trees and branches that they cut with their powerful front teeth. according to the National Park Service (opens in new tab). The rodents also use grass, rocks, and mud to reinforce these structures.
But why do American beavers (Castor canadensis) build dams? Do you live in it?
Simply put, beavers build dams to stay safe, which poses a particular challenge given their clumsy body shape and clumsy nature. “Beavers weigh between 40 and 80 pounds [18-to-36 kilogram] smelly meatbags with really short legs”, Chris Jordan (opens in new tab)a fisheries biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Newport, Oregon, told Live Science in an email.
This makes these large rodents easy prey. “When beavers are on land, they’re very awkward and vulnerable, like big, big chicken nuggets that waddle around that any predator would love to have as a meal.” Emily Fairfax (opens in new tab), an ecohydrologist at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, Calif., told Live Science in an email. “But once they’re in the water, they’re almost invincible. They are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for 10 to 15 minutes. By building a dam, they create a pond, and that pond is their safe zone.”
These waters are deep enough for beavers to hide from predators like mountain lions. bearswolves and coyotessaid Jordan. Damming can also flood areas to bring beavers closer to their main food source, he noted. These include bark, leaves and branches of trees and aquatic plants such as water lilies and cattails, according to a fact sheet from King County, Washington (opens in new tab).
Related: What is the tallest tree in the world?
Additionally, “beavers dig extensive networks of channels behind their dams to disperse the water,” Jordan said. This can certainly get them closer to trees, but it also helps “carry larger pieces of food and building materials back to their lodge, dam, and food store.”
Although dams protect beavers, they do not dwell in these structures. Instead, they often live in oven-shaped huts of sticks, grass, moss, and mud built in or on the banks of the ponds that created their dams. according to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web online database (opens in new tab). In these lodges, they live in family groups called colonies, which average five beavers, the King County site said.
The Eurasian Beaver (castor fiber), which lives in Europe and Asia, is slightly larger than the American beaver. It also builds dams, lodges and canals, a 2020 study in the European Journal of Wildlife Research (opens in new tab) written down.
Beaver dams help ecosystems
Not only their creators benefit from beaver dams, but also many other species. “Beaver dams help slow the water and keep it in the landscape longer,” Fairfax said. “This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems. The amount of food and water available in their wetlands makes them an ideal habitat for many different species. That’s one of the reasons why beavers are what’s called a key species.”
Ultimately, returning beavers to their original habitats can help reduce the impact of climate change and their ecosystems in many other ways, Fairfax and Jordan noted in an April 2022 perspective article in the journal WIRES water (opens in new tab).
“When their dams slow the water down, some of it is stored in the soil where plant roots can access it even while they’re doing it drought‘ said Fairfax. “This helps keep the vegetation lush, making the beaver complexes uniquely resistant to burning during wildfire outbreaks. These fireproof patches help maintain intact ecosystems; provide shelter for animals that cannot escape, fly away or swim away from the fire; stabilize river bank after fire; and help capture and separate ash and sediment floating in the streams after the fire.”
In addition, vegetation can pull from beaver dams greenhouse gases carbon dioxide from the air and reduce flood damage, the scientists found. When all of this beaver-related data was examined together, “It was remarkable how well-adapted beavers are not only to surviving the changing climate, but also to doing some of the work of adapting to climate change that we as humans have tried to do ourselves.” take care of. ‘ said Fairfax.
“My big takeaway from this is that we are not alone in our efforts to restore ecosystems and build resilience to climate change,” she said. “Beavers and probably other ecosystem engineers and key species do similar things through their own innate abilities. More progress is made when we work with them rather than against them.”
