Where: All of Sweden, near the water
When: Around dusk in spring and summer
What: Beaver spotting
In Sweden, you’ll find not just a lot of forest, but also plenty of water, which means beavers! I’ve been lucky enough to spot these useful creatures a few times here and thought it’d be fun to delve deeper into them.
BEAVERS WERE ALMOST WIPED OUT
The current estimate for the number of beavers in Sweden is at least 150,000. But it hasn’t always been so abundant. In the 19th century, beavers were hunted so extensively for their fur and castoreum that they were nearly extinct. In the 20th century, around 80 beavers were reintroduced from Norway into West Sweden. It It has been a success story as the population continues to grow.
NATURE'S ARCHITECTS
That’s a good thing because beavers are crucial for the landscape. With their dams, they regulate water levels in nature, allowing the environment to thrive and biodiversity to increase. They help restore balance to nature.
Beavers are hard workers. They can build a sturdy dam in just a few days. With their razor-sharp teeth, they can fell a tree in no time, accessing juicy leaves and gnawing branches for their construction projects.
The beaver is strictly vegetarian. In summer, it dines on herbs, flowers, young shoots of water plants, grasses, and roots. It also eats all parts of trees and shrubs. In autumn, beavers gather fresh branches for the winter, storing them underwater in the mud near their lodge to keep them fresh and nutrient-rich for longer.
THE BEAVER'S LODGE
Beavers don’t hibernate, but they do take it easy in winter. With their underwater fridge stocked with branches, they don’t need to forage much. Instead, they cozy up in their warm lodge. A beaver lodge consists of multiple wet and dry chambers for various purposes and it has ventilation openings. It usually has multiple entrances underwater, making it safer from predators. If the lodge is near a large lake, there’s usually no cause for concern, but if it’s by a river, water levels need to be regulated. To prevent entrances from being exposed during dry seasons, beavers build a dam to create a pond.
Built from branches, twigs, mud, and stones, a beaver lodge is so strong that even a bear couldn’t break in, and it can withstand flooding. Up to 8 beavers can live in one lodge: an adult pair with their offspring from the last two litters. The young stay until they’re adults, then they leave to find their own territory.
BEAVERS ARE FANTASTIC SWIMMERS
They’re adept on land, but they’re much more agile and comfortable in the water. Their strong swimming skills come from their body being fully adapted to water, and helps them escape predators. They have a strong, flat tail that can be up to 50 cm long and acts like a rudder in the water. Their hind feet have webbing, they can close their nose, and ears underwater. Also their eyes have a membrane. The mouth has an extra piece of flesh inside the lips, allowing the mouth to be closed behind the teeth. This enables them to gnaw, eat, and carry wood underwater in their mouth. Beavers can stay underwater for 5 to 15 minutes.
Beavers have water-repellent fur and a thick layer of fat, allowing them to stay in icy water for days or even weeks if necessary. Their teeth continuously grow, so they keep them at the right length by gnawing. They’re incredibly strong, with the front part of the tooth containing iron, giving them their orange color. A beaver can grow up to a meter long (without the tail).
HOW TO SPOT BEAVERS?
By understanding the species, it will be easier to follow their tracks and find them. If you want to spot beavers, your best bet is around dusk in spring and summer when the young ones are most active. Be quiet and look near the water for signs of gnawing and perhaps a lodge. Have you spotted a beaver? Maintain a distance (as with all wild animals) and try not to disturb it. If the beaver slaps its tail on the water and dives under, it’s noticed you and raised the alarm. It won’t likely show itself again for a while.
Spotting these large rodents in the wild and observing them as nature's architects is a remarkable experience.
HELPFUL LINKS:
A book about tracking wildlife can help recognize tracks. I think this one is a great inspiration and accurate for this area:
No luck? Go spotting beavers with a professional:
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