Orca Wild BEAVERS radical rodents ANd Ecosystem Engineers FRANCES BACKHOUSE Orca Book Publishers
While making a radio documentary about beavers I recorded audio at this beaver pond in Alberta The sounds included birds singing frogs calling insects buzzing and beavers slapping their tails PIERRE BOLDUC
INTRODUCTION Beavers are kind of goofy-looking They have big orange buckteeth front feet that don’t match their back ones and a tail that looks like it was run over by a tractor Yet those odd features are all part of what makes this animal so remarkable The beaver is North America’s number one ecosystem engineer and an essential keystone species I’m always excited when I get to see beavers in action One of my most memorable beaver-watching experiences took place in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario Evening is a good time to spot beavers so I set off along the Beaver Pond Trail just before sunset My destination destination was a massive dam that curved across one end of Amikeus Lake halfway around the trail loop Earlier that day I had hiked past the dam and seen a trickle of water flowing over it No beavers were around then but I thought they might come to deal with that trickle in the evening When I reached the dam I found a comfortable seat on a log I knew I might be waiting for a while Five minutes passed And then five more minutes Suddenly I noticed the V-shaped wake of a small dark object moving across the lake As it got closer I started to make out its features First the knobby ears Then the 11
