Mactaquac - Home of the Beavers!

We got up at 6 am Monday morning, October 4, 2010, and headed to Mactaquac in the hopes of seeing some beavers at work. And, boy, we were not disappointed!

We walked into the park at just before 7 am, a little scared but also excited as to what animals might be lurking about. It was still dark although the sky was quickly lightening.  We quietly walked along the path to the first beaver lodge and did not, unfortunately, see any wildlife along our way. When we arrived to the first lodge though, we saw 7 or 8 beavers at work! (This first stopping place, by the way, contains a wooden sitting area perched over the water, in perfect view of the lodge - what luxury!).   The beavers were swimming around the lodge, and one was gnawing away (sounded just like a handsaw) on a piece of wood in the water.  When the first beaver saw us, he sounded the alarm (big slap of the tail on the water, which I learned reverberates several miles on top and below the water to alert all the other beavers to take cover) and swam away. After a few minutes, all 7 or 8 beavers reappeared swimming toward us. They all took turns swimming by us, to the left and to the right, wiggling their little noses. Beavers do not have very good eyesight, so they rely on their excellent senses of smell and hearing. After swimming by us a few times, most beavers went back to work, although 2 of them never did stop swimming back and forth in front of us (presumably keeping us in line). 

We stayed at the first location for about 15 minutes or so but then headed on (another 15-20 min walk) to the next location, which is a much bigger lodge. There, there were another 8 or 9 beavers working away at packing mud on to the top of the lodge. These beavers were much larger and more aggressive. The same scenario repeated itself (sounding the alarm, circling us, etc.) except this time, one beaver in particular, continually sounded the alarm the whole time we were there. He would swim one way past us, then back, slap his tail, then repeat. He never gave up and it was obvious that all the beavers were rather agitated that we were there. However, after 15 minutes or so, most of the other beavers did return to work. We saw one giant fellow swimming along with a full tree branch covered in bright green leaves. We thought he was going to attach it to the top of the lodge and pat it down, but he actually swam around the lodge to the far end and then disappeared under the water (into the lodge) with it - food for the winter! How brilliant beavers are!

It was too dark to get pictures of the beavers at work, but I can show you some of their handiwork in these pics:

I find beavers pretty fascinating. I read up on them after our early morning hike and found out that:

• they are the second largest rodents in the world after the capybara
• there used to be 60 million in North America, but the population has declined to 6-12 million because of hunting
• beavers have HUGE impacts on their surroundings - for example, if there is no existing pond in which they can build their lodge, they will first build dams to create a pond, then create canals through which they can float their food supply and lumber supply, then build lodges
• beavers can stay underwater for up to 15 min
• they are herbivores and mostly eat wood, but also love pond lilies!
• they do not hibernate, but store sticks and logs in their lodges for eating during the winter
• their teeth grow continually so as not to get worn away by all their work gnawing on wood
• they can live up to 24 years of age in the wild
• many people might think that beavers ruin habitats but actually they create them - they are an integral part of creating ecosystems for other wetland species
• they fell trees both for food and for strategic reasons (creating dams) - their dams serve as protection against predators and as a way of creating a easy source of food in the winter - they can build a whole dam in one night!
• there are two dens inside the lodge, one for drying off after coming out of the water and one where the family actually lives (usually 4 adults and 6-8 babies)
• beavers leave their lodges in the spring and roam about; they don't come back and start work on refilling them with wood and re-protecting them will mud until fall
• beaver testicle secretions have been used for years in the production of some medicines; castoreum from the females has also been used as medicine and in the production of perfume (it still is today!) :(

By the way, if you want to see the beavers at work, you will have to go early morning like we did (or through the night) as beavers are nocturnal animals! Happy hiking!