Rob Rich

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.

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.

Yes. To survive in the winter, most of the times they're relying on what we call a cache. And so it's like this stored up mass of sticks that they will plug into the floor of the stream or pond or whatever water source they're on. And this is just this raft of sticks that they have piled up and are in the bottom of the water source there. And so that is their primary food during the winter.

Yes. To survive in the winter, most of the times they're relying on what we call a cache. And so it's like this stored up mass of sticks that they will plug into the floor of the stream or pond or whatever water source they're on. And this is just this raft of sticks that they have piled up and are in the bottom of the water source there. And so that is their primary food during the winter.

Yes. To survive in the winter, most of the times they're relying on what we call a cache. And so it's like this stored up mass of sticks that they will plug into the floor of the stream or pond or whatever water source they're on. And this is just this raft of sticks that they have piled up and are in the bottom of the water source there. And so that is their primary food during the winter.

And they're going in and out of the lodge to access that. There is a certain time before freeze up where it's not quite frozen, but it's not quite flowing water everywhere either. So it's kind of that delicate in-between time. And they will use their flat, thick, scald head to kind of bash up through thinner ice to do that and keep it open as long as they can.

And they're going in and out of the lodge to access that. There is a certain time before freeze up where it's not quite frozen, but it's not quite flowing water everywhere either. So it's kind of that delicate in-between time. And they will use their flat, thick, scald head to kind of bash up through thinner ice to do that and keep it open as long as they can.

And they're going in and out of the lodge to access that. There is a certain time before freeze up where it's not quite frozen, but it's not quite flowing water everywhere either. So it's kind of that delicate in-between time. And they will use their flat, thick, scald head to kind of bash up through thinner ice to do that and keep it open as long as they can.

But in my area, there does come a point where there is no more of that bashing to be had. And the ice just takes over. And so once that happens, they are fully locked under there for months at a time.

But in my area, there does come a point where there is no more of that bashing to be had. And the ice just takes over. And so once that happens, they are fully locked under there for months at a time.

But in my area, there does come a point where there is no more of that bashing to be had. And the ice just takes over. And so once that happens, they are fully locked under there for months at a time.

You can tell activity sometimes. One of the fascinating signs to look for is these bubble trails that go in and out. of air escaping from their interstitial spaces of their fur. There's air trapped in there. And so when they go in and out of their lodge, all those bubbles are escaping from their fur and rising up to the surface of the ice.

You can tell activity sometimes. One of the fascinating signs to look for is these bubble trails that go in and out. of air escaping from their interstitial spaces of their fur. There's air trapped in there. And so when they go in and out of their lodge, all those bubbles are escaping from their fur and rising up to the surface of the ice.

You can tell activity sometimes. One of the fascinating signs to look for is these bubble trails that go in and out. of air escaping from their interstitial spaces of their fur. There's air trapped in there. And so when they go in and out of their lodge, all those bubbles are escaping from their fur and rising up to the surface of the ice.

And so before the ice gets all snowed over and kind of opaque, you can see those bubbles to see where the beavers have been coming and going. But after that, after the snow gets all over the ice, it is pretty much total darkness for potentially a month at a time.

And so before the ice gets all snowed over and kind of opaque, you can see those bubbles to see where the beavers have been coming and going. But after that, after the snow gets all over the ice, it is pretty much total darkness for potentially a month at a time.

And so before the ice gets all snowed over and kind of opaque, you can see those bubbles to see where the beavers have been coming and going. But after that, after the snow gets all over the ice, it is pretty much total darkness for potentially a month at a time.

So it is multi-layered as well. It's super dense. It's one of the most dense furs of animals on the planet, really, right up there with sea otter and other semi-aquatic mammals that are spending a lot of time in really cold water in really cold northerly environments. And so it is dense. The layer on the outside that you would touch first is coarser. It's composed of more guard hairs.

So it is multi-layered as well. It's super dense. It's one of the most dense furs of animals on the planet, really, right up there with sea otter and other semi-aquatic mammals that are spending a lot of time in really cold water in really cold northerly environments. And so it is dense. The layer on the outside that you would touch first is coarser. It's composed of more guard hairs.

So it is multi-layered as well. It's super dense. It's one of the most dense furs of animals on the planet, really, right up there with sea otter and other semi-aquatic mammals that are spending a lot of time in really cold water in really cold northerly environments. And so it is dense. The layer on the outside that you would touch first is coarser. It's composed of more guard hairs.