What does beavers eat

Sign Up for News Updates. Sign up. Not convinced? Find out more ». Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter Share this article via messenger Share this with Share this article via email Share this article via flipboard Copy link. Beavers can fell as many as trees in a year! Other woody plant items that beavers consume include roots, leaves, vines, new twigs, sedges, shrubs, grasses, blackberry canes, ferns and new bark.

In addition to trees and woody plants, beaver food includes soft vegetation such as apples, grasses, water lilies, clover, giant ragweed, cattails and watercress. When vegetation is sparse, beavers are occasionally known to eat sagebrush as well. Beavers can store their food in a fascinating way for winter, when they are not able to access as many delicious plants.

This amazing food stash is called a cache and tends to be made and used in colder climates. Beavers stay busy in the fall gathering food for their cold winter and upcoming times when food is less available. When beavers eat, they hold their food in their front legs much as people hold corn-on-the-cob, rotating the treats as they go. In order to create large ponds within forests, they can reengineer their favorite landscape on their own by means of strong teeth.

Beavers love swimming in ponds and they are active all winter. Enough said! Despite spending a lot of time in lakes and ponds, beavers do not eat fish. In fact, they are herbivores and have a strictly vegetarian diet. However, they change their eating habits with a change in seasons. Image Source: Beaver Trust. In spring and summer, beavers live off herbaceous plants like herbs, water lillies, ferns, algae, sedges, buds, cattails, shrub leaves, rushes, grasses, shoots and such other non-woody plants.

In the absence of non-woody plants, they tend to feed on cambium of trees and shrubs. They have clever ways to make sure there is food available all year long. Beavers also store branches on the muddy pond floor beneath their lodges. Thus, they can eat during the winter when they spend most of their time inside.

The cool water acts like a fridge, keeping the stems fresh and preserving their nutrients. Beavers are very dexterous and tend to hold their food between their front paws to eat. Why do beavers build dams? They change their habitat! Beavers use mud and rocks to build watertight dams made of woven sticks, reeds, branches.

They chose their location based on the sound of flowing water. The dams form slow-moving ponds that reduce stream erosion. As a result, this provides a brand new habitat for small fish and other aquatic wildlife. Also, this protects the beavers from invading predators. Beavers build dams to create wetlands lands that do not drain well.

These wetlands produce perfect food for beavers. Most Dams are meters long. Beavers have dexterous front feet allowing them to be experts in holding objects. They also build lodges. These dome-like lodges are often constructed away from the shore. They form islands that can only be accessed from the water.

A lodge can have many underwater entrances and many passages to various rooms. Beavers even make a sort of chimney or skylight when they build their lodges, to allow fresh air in. The walls are insulated. The floor of the lodge is often covered in wood shavings to absorb moisture and provide a comfortable place to sleep. The lodges are homes of beavers. This is the place where they live, give birth, raise their young and store food.

They can be up to 6 feet high and as wide as almost 40 feet! Beavers are nocturnal animals , they become active at night. Their vision is poor; they take cues from the sun and use their whiskers to detect things. Beavers must be able to find objects in dark water and other dim areas such as their lodges.