Rob Rich

Yeah, great question. So again, a lodge, you are correct, the lodge is separate from a dam. And so they're not ever living in the dam, but they are definitely using a variety of different lodge styles. And sometimes they can be like freestanding in the water. And sometimes they can be half affixed to like a bank. Sometimes it can just be a hole dug into a bank and they burrowed in that way. But

Those are the places where they're living and kind of sheltering over winter if it's in an environment where they need to do that. And they are not impenetrable, but they are very difficult to enter for a lot of predators. The ones that are made of sticks and mud are generally like the dam in a way. The sticks are kind of latticed in and then the mud fills in a lot of the cracks.

Those are the places where they're living and kind of sheltering over winter if it's in an environment where they need to do that. And they are not impenetrable, but they are very difficult to enter for a lot of predators. The ones that are made of sticks and mud are generally like the dam in a way. The sticks are kind of latticed in and then the mud fills in a lot of the cracks.

Those are the places where they're living and kind of sheltering over winter if it's in an environment where they need to do that. And they are not impenetrable, but they are very difficult to enter for a lot of predators. The ones that are made of sticks and mud are generally like the dam in a way. The sticks are kind of latticed in and then the mud fills in a lot of the cracks.

And so when that freezes in the winter, that can become pretty rock hard. And they do all... All the family is living in there together. One of my most fascinating parts of beaver existence is just that time in the winter of how they're doing that under the ice, in the darkness, in cold environments, in wet environments.

And so when that freezes in the winter, that can become pretty rock hard. And they do all... All the family is living in there together. One of my most fascinating parts of beaver existence is just that time in the winter of how they're doing that under the ice, in the darkness, in cold environments, in wet environments.

And so when that freezes in the winter, that can become pretty rock hard. And they do all... All the family is living in there together. One of my most fascinating parts of beaver existence is just that time in the winter of how they're doing that under the ice, in the darkness, in cold environments, in wet environments.

And it's just, you know, we thought COVID was bad and isolation in a lot of ways. I mean, they are very much isolated in that time when they can't come back out above water surface for months at a time, potentially. It does have... different layers, terraces, a lot of times you can see in them.

And it's just, you know, we thought COVID was bad and isolation in a lot of ways. I mean, they are very much isolated in that time when they can't come back out above water surface for months at a time, potentially. It does have... different layers, terraces, a lot of times you can see in them.

And it's just, you know, we thought COVID was bad and isolation in a lot of ways. I mean, they are very much isolated in that time when they can't come back out above water surface for months at a time, potentially. It does have... different layers, terraces, a lot of times you can see in them.

If you ever are lucky enough to find a abandoned beaver lodge, sometimes I have been able to enter into some of the chutes that go into a lodge and you can see for yourself kind of what the size is like, but it can generally fit them together, generally some body warmth in there involved.

If you ever are lucky enough to find a abandoned beaver lodge, sometimes I have been able to enter into some of the chutes that go into a lodge and you can see for yourself kind of what the size is like, but it can generally fit them together, generally some body warmth in there involved.

If you ever are lucky enough to find a abandoned beaver lodge, sometimes I have been able to enter into some of the chutes that go into a lodge and you can see for yourself kind of what the size is like, but it can generally fit them together, generally some body warmth in there involved.

But Casey McFarland, who's a great tracker and wildlife ecologist, he has a great video just showing one of those abandoned beaver lodges, what the interior is like.

But Casey McFarland, who's a great tracker and wildlife ecologist, he has a great video just showing one of those abandoned beaver lodges, what the interior is like.

But Casey McFarland, who's a great tracker and wildlife ecologist, he has a great video just showing one of those abandoned beaver lodges, what the interior is like.

But in the lodges, there can be muskrats, particularly one that are often cohabitating with beavers. And there are things like spiders, all sorts of invertebrates and insects that are certainly dwelling in there, sometimes amphibians as well. And then after the beavers leave sometimes, there can be other larger animals that use them as well.

But in the lodges, there can be muskrats, particularly one that are often cohabitating with beavers. And there are things like spiders, all sorts of invertebrates and insects that are certainly dwelling in there, sometimes amphibians as well. And then after the beavers leave sometimes, there can be other larger animals that use them as well.

But in the lodges, there can be muskrats, particularly one that are often cohabitating with beavers. And there are things like spiders, all sorts of invertebrates and insects that are certainly dwelling in there, sometimes amphibians as well. And then after the beavers leave sometimes, there can be other larger animals that use them as well.

Sage Raymond is a colleague that has done really neat work up in Elk Island National Park in Alberta, just showing that coyotes and porcupines and different animals are following after the beaver to use those where tree sources are limited. And so beavers are incredibly important throughout, again, throughout their temporal history of their wetland complexes is fascinating to me.