In Canada, they celebrate National Beaver Day on the last Friday in February but here in the US, it’s celebrated on April 7th.
Here’s a wonderful YouTube video done by the BBC that has great footage of dam building and other activity. :
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyNA62FrKCE&feature=related
If there are human/beaver conflicts going on near you – the beavers don’t need to be evicted.
There are all sorts of solutions to protect trees and even address any unwanted flooding from dam activities. Check out our Beaver Solutions page for a video.
Here are some fun beaver facts that you can use to amaze your friends:
- Beavers are the second largest rodent in the world
- Beavers mate for life
- Dams made by Beavers prevent flooding disasters and create valuable wetland habitats
- Beavers live in suburban settings wherever there is flowing water like creeks, streams, rivers
Beavers are great members of the wild kingdom – they play such a critical role in our ecosystem, helping develop and maintain wetlands which serve as some of the richest habitats in our area.
I recently received the latest issue of Beaversprite – the newsletter prepared by a great organization called Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife, and in it they talked about International Beaver Day and some ideas on how to celebrate our wetland engineers:
“International Beaver Day on April 7 celebrates the “keepers of the streams.” It is a great time to hike to a beaver pond, read a beaver book, attend or give a beaver program and write a letter to the editor about these amazing animals. Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife has beaver brochures and other materials available about this keystone species and ways to coexist with the animal that restores our land’s best life support system.”
There’s a beaver pond over at Banshee Reeks Nature Preseve in Leesburg – not sure if the beavers are active there this year but it’s worth a check.
Check out this latest issue of Beaversprite as well as the Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife website to learn more about living well with Beavers. They’re really cool friends.
