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Why do beavers build dams? |
Have you ever heard the phrase “busy as a beaver”? Beavers are famously known to be busy, busy critters!
Beavers are probably most famously known for their building skills, particularly when it comes to dams. The dams that beavers build stop or lessen the flow of water in a place like a river or stream. Beavers are known for the way they almost obsessively build and maintain these dams!
Part of the reason that building dams is so important to beavers is that it provides them with homes and protection. By controlling the water in a river or stream, beavers can give themselves good spots with shallower water for building their homes (known as “lodges). A dam also raises the water level on one side of the river or stream that it’s in, which helps beavers have a safe place to hide when a predator comes along!
Beavers also build dams because they don’t like the sound of running water! Beavers have been known to work around-the-clock to fix a leak in a dam if they can hear any water trickling through.
These amazing dams aren’t just important to beavers, but to lots of other animals too! Beaver dams help create special habitats known as wetlands. Lots of animals, like fish, frogs, ducks, turtles, birds rely on these wetlands as their homes and ecosystems!
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