Leave it to Beavers
Beaver have been trimming one of color spotter Michelle Pontoni’s favorite aspen groves at the Lam Watah Nature Trail in Stateline, NV.
She reports that though several impressive trees have been gnawed by beavers for their sustenance and use in building dams and lodges, many shoots of new growth give promise that the grove will continue to be a favorite of color spotters at South Lake Tahoe.
Why is it we hardly ever see beaver (Castor canadensis) chewing on quaking aspen (Populus Tremuloides)?
Because they’re nocturnal. The beavers, that is. Beavers emerge from their protective watery lodges at night to forage and build, because they have little defense against predators in daylight. That’s mostly when they chomp on the aspen. A beaver can topple a medium-sized aspen in a night.
A 1960 study by Joseph G. Hall of the Museum of Vetebrate Zoology at Berkley found that nearly every woody plant living near streams is cut to some extent by beavers. Though, they prefer aspen and willow and will consume mountain alder, ceanothus, currant, lodgepole pine, white fir and grasses living near streams and ponds.
So, to jump-start autumn, spend summer in the aspen groves, as Michelle did. You may just see a beaver braving daylight for one of his favorite meals.
- Lam Watah Nature Trail, Stateline, NV – Just Starting (0-10%)
i love these industrious animals!