"Natural World" Through My Camera: Beaver Den Remodeled By Mother Nature

"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold

"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Beaver Den Remodeled By Mother Nature

While passing by an area where a family of beavers live I came upon a hickory tree that had fallen, only hours before, that was so tall that it spanned the creek. From past observation I knew there was a beaver den located under the fallen tree.

Here is a photo of the root system where the den is located, before the tree fell …

I wondered if the beavers were trapped inside with the large ball of roots blocking the den entrance…

Before sunrise on the next morning I was parked where I could observe, and photograph, the site. As soon as it was light beaver activity was apparent. In fact, there was more activity than I had observed there all summer. The beavers were remodeling the entrance to their den, feeding on stream side grasses and enjoying the bounty of the hickory leaves and branches provided by the fallen tree…