Beavers on the Move
As the days get longer here in Southwest Missouri and the temperatures warm we often get calls from landowners concerned about new beaver activity along the waterways on their property. The most familiar sign that beavers have just moved in is the presence of the telltale chewing on saplings and even larger trees. Less obvious beaver activity would include the appearance of “slides” in and out of the water along the banks as well as the undercutting of the banks to create dens. Although beavers in Southwest Missouri will build dams and lodges it is also very common for beavers to live in dens in the bank along streams, creeks and rivers. If you are land owner that has recently discovered the damage that these new beavers are doing to the trees and the banks on your property you may ask, “Where did they come from?” Here’s an answer to your question. Frequent spring rains of Southwest Missouri typically corresponds with the time when maturing beavers travel. As is the case with all types of wildlife, when young begin to mature into adults, the urge to vacate their parents’ territory increases and they begin to look for a suitable spot that they can claim as their own.
The natural tendency of maturing young to disperse well away from their parent’s territory allows for the healthy spread of genetics within a particular species. If offspring were to remain nearby, the risk of inbreeding would eventually increase. The chance of unwanted traits appearing in offspring increases when individuals from the same blood line mate reducing the chances for survival of the entire species. Because of this risk, maturing adults experience the desire to disperse far enough away from their birthplace to reduce the likelihood of two closely related individuals encountering one another and breeding. For the Missouri’s beavers, sexual maturity occurs just prior to the age of two. Beavers typically reach this age shortly before the adult female in the colony gives birth to her yearly litter of kits. It is these two year old beavers that are most likely to roam far and wide during the spring months.
Traveling well outside familiar territory is a real challenge for a young adult beaver in Southwest Missouri. The population of Missouri’s largest rodent is currently relatively high and vacant waterways containing an adequate food supply can be difficult for these young beaver to find. It is common for a traveling beaver to encounter an aggressive resident adult beaver that refuses to allow an outside beaver to trespass; forcing the wandering individual to travel overland in its journey to find a suitable, unoccupied stretch of water. A beaver in search of new territory will also exit the safety of the water if it encounters an impassible obstacle, such as a dam, a waterfall, or a series of rapids in which the current is just too swift and the turbulence too severe to continue moving through the water. The unusual tendency of a beaver to venture across land in the spring may be demonstrated by the occasional dead beaver along a stretch of highway that is far from a body of water. Noting the presence of roadkill may seem to be a gruesome way of assessing the habits of certain forms of wildlife, however, it can sometimes be a valuable tool to gain insight into the lives and habits of certain species.
Occasionally older adult beavers abandon their home pond or waterway when the supply of edible vegetation along the shore, and a short distance inland, is depleted. As the beavers store up food for the winter months, they may cut down almost every shrub, sapling and tree close to the shoreline that has any nutritional value to them. In such situations, the entire family relocates to another stretch of the same waterway where the vegetation is more favorable to them. However, when a family moves, it rarely travels over land; rather it typically remains on the same general drainage system.
Beavers can be an asset by creating new wetlands habitat providing a place for a wide variety of wildlife species. However, beaver activity can also be massively destructive. As they cut down trees along the banks of waterways they deplete the natural erosion control that those trees provide. In addition to the cutting of trees, beavers also undermine the integrity of the banks by digging and creating dens. As a population grows in an area the beavers will begin to build dams causing flooding of pastureland or woodlands. Beavers have also been responsible for plugging culverts, damaging roadways, bridges and railways. If you have recently discovered that beavers have taken up residence on your property now is the time to take action. Early spring is an ideal time to manage a population of beavers, if done properly management of a colony can take place prior to new litter of young beavers being born. If you are experiencing property damage due to beaver activity give us a call we can help you find a solution. We are currently taking beaver management jobs in Joplin, Carthage, Neosho, Diamond, Carterville, Seneca and other areas of Newton and Jasper counties.
