Beaver natures master builders Blessed with the finest set of front teeth, the skull, jaw, neck and surrounding muscles, it seems have been perfectly designed to carry out cutting down trees. The beaver has two main uses for trees - a source of food and materials required to build lodges and dams. Depending on the kind and size of trees beavers are efficient and purposeful when gnawing away into the bark. Small saplings up to two inches can be brought down with just a few bites. Bigger diameter trees the beaver takes chips out similar to the way an axe would make on a tree trunk. The cutting method of the beaver starts with a downward bite. The front teeth dig in and rips at a chip as soon as its loosened up enough. Each cut the beaver moves around the trunk. Small trees the beaver will cut close to the ground on all fours leaving mini stumps low to the ground. Larger trees it gets up on its hind legs using the tail as a brace with the forearms gripping the tree. The head cuts at an angle cutting downwards at first then moving sideways around the tree. The size of trees the beaver can bring down have measured up to 3 feet in diameter. Once the tree is fallen other members of the family can cut and remove small branches for food or lodge and dam building. Tree felling can be dangerous even for the beaver. They can sense a little just before the tree starts to move but beavers have been found killed under the tree they were felling. Once the tree is felled the beavers cut and drag the branches over the land leaving a worn pathway sometimes as long as 50 yards to the water if trees in an area are not close enough they may start building canals to swim along and keep out of sight from predatores. |