River engineers, or Where the beavers live

Several million years ago, beaver size not inferior to today's bears. Modern beavers are much smaller than their ancestors. An adult animal reaches a length of up to 1.2 meters and weighs up to 30 kilograms, and some and all 45! On his tail accounts for a rather large percentage of the total length of the body, up to 22 centimeters. His head is small, round, with small eyes. The color of the coat is from reddish-brown to almost black. Europe and Asia are the main places where beavers live. For their invaluable talent for the construction of dams and their own dwelling in the people, they were nicknamed "river engineers".

Exemplary family man

These are unique animals in terms of interpersonal relationships. Beavers are real family man. The male and his female form a family like humans: the beaver defends his "wife", protects her. Together they live a lifetime. In the spring, Bobrich brings him up to eight beavers. They are born sighted and already covered with fur. A couple of days after his birth, the Bobryat begin to swim. The first month of their lives they are fed by mother's milk, and after that they are able to eat like adults. Since these animals are engaged in construction activities all their lives (we will discuss this later), it is logical to assume what beavers eat. Their food - these are branches of trees, their trunks, young shoots, the roots of water plants ... In short, what they build from, so they feed.

River engineers

But where do beavers live with their whole friendly family? If you think that these are banal burrows, then you are deeply mistaken. With pride you can say that "shaggy engineers" live in their own "apartments"! They independently build so-called hutki-islets, blocking them with a dam. As a building material beavers use aspen and alder, densely growing along the coast. How does this happen? "Builders" fell trees, gnawing their trunks. Chopped pieces of wood, they are dragged in the teeth to the place of their future house, sticking them with a sharp end into the bottom, the rest is laid in such a way that they are not carried away by the current. Then comes a smooth shaft of brushwood, pressed down for reliability by stones. Finish the process with leaves, clay and other debris. By the way, many building techniques people have learned from these animals.

Family affair

When the Bobryats grow up, they quickly join the general family business. They help their parents to repair the hut, update it, and also deal with the whole life of beavers - to build a dam so that the water does not flood their house. In the autumn, where beavers live, the forage is prepared for the winter. In short, these resourceful and hardworking animals are not bad owners.

Small animals in price

Beavers are valuable fur animals. In the XIX century, they almost died out because of the fashion for their chic furs. All the noble people of that time preferred to walk in beaver caps and fur coats. But, fortunately, fashion quickly passed, and laws were passed to protect animals. And to this day beavers are protected by law.

Wonderful tail

First, the tail of the beaver is the steering wheel during the voyage. Secondly, it is a thermoregulator: if the beaver is hot, then its blood vessels located in the tail begin to expand and let in blood, which, in turn, gives heat to the water. If the animal is cold, for example, in winter - the vessels in the tail are compressed, allowing the body to keep warm. Thirdly, it is an alarm for his relatives: if they are in danger, then the beaver starts to loudly slap its tail on the water.

Unbelievable but true

Once in the United States of America, where beavers of Canadian origin live, a dam of six meters in height and 10 meters long was discovered! In the state of New Hampshire, we found a dam ... length of 1 km 200 meters! In the dam beyond it were 40 beaver lodges.