Thanks to their impressive building skills, beavers are a keystone species—an animal whose activities support its entire ...

These watery homes also give beavers access to food year-round, as they stash branches underwater for winter snacking. The deep water prevents their lodge entrances from freezing in cold climates ...

Beavers slap their tails to warn their colony of danger, a behavior linked to their social structure and territorial instincts. Living in tightly-knit family groups, they build protective lodges ...

Beavers are renowned for building dams, which the animals construct from trees and branches they cut using their strong front teeth, according to the National Park Service. The rodents also use ...

By meeting their habitat requirements, beavers support impacts on ecosystem biodiversity through a dynamic network of beaver interaction with land, water, and other species. Why Do Beavers Build Dams?

To build a dam, the beavers, whose weight as adults can range from about 40 to 80 pounds, begin by piling small stones across a river or stream, packing those stones in with mud, and repeating the ...

Beavers must continually gnaw on bark and wood to keep their teeth trimmed so that they do not grow too long. Beavers travel for long distances from their lodges in search of food.