The mind of a beaver

[Fitz]

Engineering Marvel

Longest Beaver Dam:

http://www.geostrategis.com/p_beavers-longestdam.htm

 

[Grumpy]

... My mother-in-law's husband does firewood on the tree farm property (not to be confused with the river), and after cutting the aspens, he'd bring the tips to the beaver pond. The next day, they'd be gone. After a few days, the beaver was waiting for him at the appointed time.

It seems that beavers can be quite tame, or bold. I can remember a few instances, from my old fishing days, when beaver actually swam up under our canoe and began scratching at it. On one occasion a beaver swam close enough on the surface for my buddy to poke at the thing with the tip of his fishing rod ... which the beaver promptly grabbed and bit into.

G.

 

[sierra]

beavers are very territorial as well. I once crossed directly in front of a beaver house in CO, they came out from under the house and chased me right across the brook. could it have been the beautifull beaver stick I was holding in my hand?

 

[Mats Roing]

could it have been the beautifull beaver stick I was holding in my hand?

What kind of beautiful beaver stick were you holding?

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Do they understand what they are doing or do they just feel the urge to gnaw?

Not only do they not understand what they are doing but they have even been killed by the trees they fell. Their only contribution to their own survival when falling a tree is running as fast as their stumpy little legs will carry them. As a survival strategy this is better than just standing there when the tree falls but not nearly as good as figuring (or planning) where the tree is going to fall.

As far as that engineering skill people tout all the time. In its simplest form, in order to make a dam, you put crap (your choice of crap, beaver looked around, he chooses trees/sticks ) in the way of the flowing water until the water doesn't flow any more. Where ever there is a flow/leak, you put another stick. Not really rocket science is it.

Just like peakbagging i.e. If heading upward, continue, until you run out of up.

Keith

 

[DougPaul]

As far as that engineering skill people tout all the time. In its simplest form, in order to make a dam, you put crap (your choice of crap, beaver looked around, he chooses trees/sticks ) in the way of the flowing water until the water doesn't flow any more. Where ever there is a flow/leak, you put another stick. Not really rocket science is it.

I have read that they simply listen for the sound of the running water (ie the leak) and go plug it with sticks and mud. Simple but effective.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

I think it is the book Guns, Germs, & Steel where the author - Jared Diamond - points out that virtually all large North American mammals went extinct just about the same time that humans arrived across the Bering Strait.

That is certainly one theory. I believe there are others. For instance, the continental glaciers were retreating about then too--the climate and the flora would have been changing.

As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Absolute fact. Walt Kelly hit the nail on the head with this one.

I Go Pogo. (Oops, wrong presidential race...)

Doug

 

[Karst]

I really tried to hold off on this, but the flesh is weak.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/47469
Beaver Overthinking Dam | The Onion - America's Finest News Sourcehttp://www.theonion.com/content/node/47469

 

[moonrock]

That "The Onion" photo looks more like a marmot or ground squirrel. Beavers' eyes look tiny, like buttons sewn on as an afterthought.

Here in NC, during the height of the 1990s east-coast rabies outbreak, there were two attacks by rabid beavers (confirmed by lab testing). One tried to climb into a fishing boat, and the other bit nearly through a swimmer's arm. A fox (found dead nearby a few weeks before) may have infected them.

60 years ago beavers were introduced into Patagonia for (unsuccessful) trapping and fur trade. Having no natural enemies they have since multiplied and spread west to Chile; their dams and new feeding habits are disrupting fluvial and forest ecosystems.

http://www.ieb-chile.cl/pdf/Winston-Salem Journal 261107.pdf

 

[HockeyPuck]

Not only do they not understand what they are doing but they have even been killed by the trees they fell. Their only contribution to their own survival when falling a tree is running as fast as their stumpy little legs will carry them. As a survival strategy this is better than just standing there when the tree falls but not nearly as good as figuring (or planning) where the tree is going to fall.

I was curious and have read studies regarding this. True, A beaver has no control over the direction the tree will fall. It gnaws until it starts to fall then runs out of the way. Much like me with a chainsaw [].

 

[HockeyPuck]

I have read that they simply listen for the sound of the running water (ie the leak) and go plug it with sticks and mud. Simple but effective.

Doug

Also True! If you place a portable radio playing a sounds of running water CD next to a beaver pond, the beavers will attempt to stop the water by surrounding the radio with sticks and 'other crap' until the running water sounds stop or the batteries die!

Fascinating stuff!

 

[Solitary]

Also True! If you place a portable radio playing a sounds of running water CD next to a beaver pond, the beavers will attempt to stop the water by surrounding the radio with sticks and 'other crap' until the running water sounds stop or the batteries die!

Fascinating stuff!

That's amazing: how to drive a beaver out of his/her mind. In college I took a course in animal behavior and the instructor was talking about "sign stimuli" that trigger certain responses. He did a class (well out-of-class really) demonstration. We went to a nearby marsh and he stuck a black sock stuffed with newspaper on a stick in the marsh. Nothing happened. Then he added two red triangles (points facing down) to the "shoulders" of the sock and the male red-wing blackbirds attacked that sock and kept on attacking it until it fell apart.

 

[Karst]

That "The Onion" photo looks more like a marmot or ground squirrel. Beavers' eyes look tiny, like buttons sewn on as an afterthought.

Although they now have offices many places, the editorial work at The Onion is done in NYC, and I'm willing to bet it's been a long time since a New Yorker was face-to-face with a beaver. I can hear the conversation now;
Editor: "Get me a photo of a beaver"
Staffer: (long pause) "A beaver?"
Editor: "Yeah, you know, one of those short furry things with the big teeth that chew on trees."
Staffer: "Okaaay(?), what do they look like, exactly?"
Editor: "How the heck do I know, just get me a photo of a little furry animal that isn't a dog, cat, squirrel or some other creature that lives in Central Park."

And there you go. Voila, a beaver.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

We went to a nearby marsh and he stuck a black sock stuffed with newspaper on a stick in the marsh. Nothing happened. Then he added two red triangles (points facing down) to the "shoulders" of the sock and the male red-wing blackbirds attacked that sock and kept on attacking it until it fell apart.

What is the explanation for this? I have red-wing blackbirds in the marsh outside my house and occasionally hear them screeching and see them diving. It sounds like they view the sock/triangles as another red-wing blackbird?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[NewHampshire]

It sounds like they view the sock/triangles as another red-wing blackbird?

Thanks,
Tim

Most likely. Lets face it, animals can be smart, but they still have brains incapable of higher thought function. I read of biologists taking frozen turkey heads (just the head) and tying them to sticks. Male turkeys would then strut up and try to mate with the head on a stick. The reason, they believe, is that the turkeys keyed in on the coloration in the frozen head. Many hunting decoys look absolutely fake to humans, but to wildlife they can be as realistic as the real thing.

Brian