Beavers in nature. What the beaver eats

When it comes to beavers, immediately there is a river miracle with huge, yellow, sharp teeth, capable of gnawing anything. These animals are really very toothy, only in nature a great profit is due precisely to the tireless jaw. Everyone knows that beaver is a natural builder. He is a model of perseverance and diligence. People from these workers have adopted the experience, useful in the construction of dams. Sometimes our younger brothers have much to learn. How does it live, what does the beaver eat, how does it build its unique buildings? You will learn all this after reading the article.

The largest rodent

In our time in nature there are two types of beavers: Canadian and European. The differences between them are small, except that the European is slightly smaller than the Canadian one. Long ago, about 5 million years ago, beavers could measure their strength even with the owner of the forest - a bear. The huge ancestors of today's rodents have died out, and today the builders of dams are much inferior in size to their great-grandfathers.

The adult male beaver weighs approximately 20-25 kg, some bogatyrs reach a weight of 45 kg, the length reaches up to 1.2 meters. 15-20 cm takes a delightful tail, its width is almost equal to the length. Another important feature of this tail is the keel - with its help the furry swimmer regulates the depth of immersion in water. The ability to see everything under water and orientate perfectly is given to the beaver absolutely transparent eyelids.

There is something else interesting in the appearance of rodents: the claw on the thumb is split into two halves - it is a gift from nature, so that the animals can comb their hair. Continuing the conversation about the extremities, I want to note that they help the beaver to swim well. Hind legs - with membranes, same dumbbells have ducks. Thanks to them, swimmers can reach speeds of up to 10 km / h. The front paws are relatively small, without membranes, equipped with impressive powerful claws, which can easily dig the ground. Even the front feet play the role of hands - in them animals wear clay, branches.

A fine thick coat and a thick layer of fat under the skin protect the beavers from the cold. For their fur coat animals carefully care for, combing it with a natural comb. Thanks to the oily liquid that special glands secrete, this wonderful fur does not get wet.

The teeth of animals grow all their life, and if they do not regularly rub off on the tree, they will reach unprecedented proportions.

The life of beavers in nature is full of dangers. Its duration is on the average 13-15 years. In captivity, they live 2-3 times longer.

The life of beavers in nature

All those animals that are adjacent to the beavers are entrusting them with a mission to preserve and, if necessary, save water and adjacent forest lands. It turns out that with their work, shaggy builders care not only for their well-being, - the calm of neighbors also depends on them.

The sound of flowing water awakens the beaver's passion for building, and they begin to act. They can build it day and night, more hardworking workers can not be found. Beavers begin to develop new water territory according to the plan worked out over the years:

1. A dam is being built, which will turn the stream into a cozy and quiet pond.
2. A system of channels is being created to expand the domains.
3. A huge pantry is being built.
4. A huge, multi-room house with a height of more than 1 meter is being built. The walls of the house are about half a meter thick.

Only after one week the house is ready, the entrances are under water to protect the dwelling from enemies. When the beaver works at the "sawmill", harvests wood, it is at risk. The tree can fall and crush the beaver, so only one material is sent for the building material, and with it, and the rest of the family are busy with other household chores. Good for these lumberjacks! After all, what does a beaver eat? Yes, from what and builds its dams. Building material is important to extract, but the food reserves for the rodent family need to be made very large.

Faithful spouses and caring parents

In the family of furry rodents reigns loyalty and devotion. They do everything together throughout their lives, intelligently distributing the work among all members of the family. Young people can live together with their parents for up to two years, after which children must go to build their home, trying to find a couple during their wanderings.

Mama-beaver leads in a litter from 3 to 4 pups weighing 0.5 kg each. Kids are born full copies of their parents, only small. They are already in fur coats with large teeth and delightful tails. After two weeks, the future lumberjacks already gnaw solid food. The older the beaver eats, the younger one also eats. A family idyll in water houses can only be envied!

What do beavers eat in nature?

The main menu of these hard-working rodents is herbaceous plants. What a beaver eats, show often in cartoons. In most cases, from the screens, we see how these animals eat fish. It's not true - water animals do not eat such food. Forces spend a lot on felling, they need to be somehow replenished in order to withstand such a load. And in this they are certainly not helped by the fish!

What do beavers eat in nature, what are their favorite dishes? It is clear that this tree is clearer. Favorite delicacies - twigs alder, aspen, willow. For a day the beaver eats up to 1 kg of wood. Bark, wood pulp under the bark - this is the best food of tooth-whippers. Small twigs they chew as a candy.

Such hard food is difficult to chew, and even harder to digest. The food system of beavers is quite ready for this work.

In the winter time

How do water workers behave in the cold season, because the ponds freeze, everything around in the snow? They have a hard time, but if you prepare well for the winter, then the frosts will not be terrible. Most of the time, the beaver sleeps in winter. But to sleep was calm and on a full stomach, one family for the winter to prepare more than a ton of branches.

In the beaver's hut, insulated for the winter, it is very cozy. That's only when the food ends, the head of the family have to go fishing. The body of beavers is adapted to swimming, and not to plowing snow, so it is very difficult for them in the frost and snowdrifts. Therefore, they make every effort to ensure that reserves are sufficient to heat.

Curious facts

The life of beavers is very interesting, there are many curious in their way of life:

1. Distance under water in 700 meters, hairy swimmers overcome in 10-15 minutes.
2. In just one night, a beaver can knock down and peel a tree with a diameter of 30-40 cm from the bark.
3. The area of 3 square. Km can be inhabited by only one family of beavers.
4. The largest built beaver dam is 700 meters long, which is a world record. Although in the state of New Hampshire there is a dam more - 1,2 km.
5. In the city of Bobruisk there are two monuments to the beaver, which is not surprising, if you pay attention to the name of the city.