{"id":806,"date":"2021-04-10T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T10:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/tuba\/?p=806"},"modified":"2021-04-10T10:00:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T10:00:57","slug":"telling-the-beavers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/gilliantaylor\/2021\/04\/10\/telling-the-beavers\/","title":{"rendered":"Telling the Beavers"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have seen recently some talk about the reintroduction of certain animals into the UK. There are a few animals you might never have realised were native to the UK, such as lynx and bears, the white-tailed eagle, and the ridiculously cute pine marten (seriously, look at them!<\/a>). Well, we\u2019ve just started work on a project alongside our Ecology and Environmental friends at Teesside for the Forestry Commission investigating a new beaver enclosure!<\/p>\n

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You must answer the riddle to pass the beaver\u2019s dam (image: BBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A beaver\u2019s paradise<\/h2>\n

Within just a year, what started as a small stream passing through the private woodlands has now become home to two beavers, their four new-born kits (yeah, I wish they were called babe-eavers too) and this massive<\/strong> pond teeming with new aquatic life! And to think, you used to be able to stroll through here without needing overalls and a raft just a year ago…<\/p>\n

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Fancy a quick dip? This guacamole pond is much deeper than it looks!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why do we give a dam?<\/h2>\n

Beavers have a pretty well-known habit of building dams. Did you know that a major reason for this is winter survival? The deep water behind the dam doesn\u2019t freeze the whole depth, allowing the beavers to anchor a food source at the bottom of the water and survive the winter. When building the dams, the beavers scurry around the environment selecting the juiciest of trees and have a little nibble. Okay, more like a feast. As they munch on the bark, the trees eventually give way and topple over. Sometimes these are left in place for a while, sometimes they\u2019re broken down and moved elsewhere, generally somewhere that would be a good place to fill up with water. These branches accumulate, slowing down the movement of water and creating a sort of reservoir. Eventually, this forms a series of dams that can reach several meters high, filling up with water. This water is amazing<\/em> for the ecosystem, providing a good quality environment for many sensitive plants and animals whilst also potentially improving flood control. When we visited this week, there were frogs everywhere<\/em>, you had to play leapfrog around them! Frogs are fantastic for the environment, so we certainly want lots and lots of lil\u2019 froggos bopping around.<\/p>\n