It is just about impossible to travel down Dragon Run without seeing many signs of the American beaver (Castor canadensis). Gnawed stumps, downed trees, chewed sticks floating in the water, dams, and lodges are evident along the entire length of the river. Unless you are very stealthy and lucky, you probably won’t actually see a beaver during a daylight float trip; at night, however, you will not only see them, but you’ll be greatly startled when one surfaces near your boat and gives a mighty slap of its flat tail, sending a great splash of water over you as it makes a hasty retreat.

The American beaver is the second largest rodent in the world (the largest is the South American capybara), and usually attains a weight of 45-60 pounds. Unlike most other mammals, beavers continue growing throughout their lives. They are uniquely adapted for swimming, having large webbed hind feet, and flaps that close off their ears and nostrils when underwater. Three lids cover their eyes, one of which is transparent, allowing them to see very clearly when they are swimming. Ironically, they cannot see very well out of water. Their sense of smell and hearing are very keen, however, and help alert them to nearby danger. They can also escape by swimming underwater holding their breath for up to 15 minutes and traveling a half mile or more. The beaver’s tail is used as a steering paddle when the animal is swimming and also greatly aids its getaway from enemies. That odd tail also serves  as a prop on dry land when the beaver assumes a sitting position to gnaw on a tree trunk.                                       

A unique feature of the beaver is its teeth. Twenty in all, the back 16 are used for chewing and stop growing when the animal is about two years old. The orange-colored front four teeth, however, are very hard and continue growing throughout the life of the beaver. Because of this constant growth, the beaver must chew to keep the teeth at a proper length and maintain good health.

The beaver’s diet varies from season to season, but it is strictly a vegetarian. In the summer it eats grasses, leaves, ferns and water plants. In fall, it switches to a more woody diet. Poplar and willow trees are preferred. In winter it eats branches it has stored in deep water. It has been shown that an acre of poplars can sustain a family of beavers for about one to two years.

Beavers fell trees for food and as building materials in their lodges and dams. Many people believe the animal has the ability to drop a tree where it wants it to fall, but in actual fact, it has no idea where it will land. It’s only defense is to run when the tree starts coming down. There is ample evidence that some terrible and fatal mistakes have been made. One rather well-known photograph shows the skeleton of a beaver that died when a branch impaled its tail, causing it to starve to death because it could not free itself.

Beavers place the trees they have dragged to the dam site with the tips pointing in the same direction that the stream is flowing. They also "weave" sticks into the structure by crisscrossing them. Anyone who has ever tried to pull out a beaver dam knows first-hand how tightly-woven and strong these dams are. The size and height of beavers dams can sometimes reach prodigious proportions. One was found to be more than 1500 feet long and 12 feet high.

The beaver lodge is woven together basically the same as the dams and usually has several underwater entrances. Sticks are placed loosely over the top to allow air to enter the lodge. The floor is elevated above the water and beavers adjust and repair the dam downstream to keep the water level around the lodge constant and the floor dry. Some beavers choose to build tunnels in banks for their homes, instead of lodges. A family usually stays in the same lodge or den until all the food in the area is depleted or they are seriously plagued by predators.

The expression, "busy as a beaver," aptly applies when one considers just how much work these animals can do. Someone carefully documented the activities of one pair of beavers and found that in a 15-month period, they cut down 266 trees, built three 50-ft. dams, constructed a lodge of 1000 cubic feet, and stored a wood pile 30 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 3 feet high. Now, that’s busy!

The beaver family usually consists of two adults and three to six young (called "kits") that are born in late spring.

Even though they are able to swim a few hours after birth, they are so buoyant that they cannot submerge and, consequently, cannot get out of the underground entrance of the lodge when they are very young. Family units stay together until the kits are about two years old. At that time the adults drive out the young to make room for a new litter.

Beavers are found over most of the U.S. and Canada except for most of Florida, Nevada, and southern California. Until the latter part of the 1800s, they were hunted and trapped to near extinction for their luxurious pelts. Today, the beaver has made a healthy comeback in many areas and is actually considered an agricultural pest over some of its range. Hunting and trapping laws pertaining to beavers vary greatly from state to state, with the animal enjoying total protection in some areas, and very little in others. The state of Virginia allows the animal to be trapped from December through February.

In recent years, the beaver population on Dragon Run has increased significantly, radically changing the river complex by creating dams and backup pools where there were none before and obstructing the waterway with numerous downed trees. These back-ups and obstructions cause the river to spread out, decreasing its depth and obscuring channels, making navigation on the river much more difficult. There is no doubt that the beaver has altered the face of Dragon Run and will continue to do so in ways, if the population of these animals continues to increase. Meanwhile, we can only wait and watch, knowing that for some wildlife, the presence of the beaver and its activities is detrimental, while, for others, it is beneficial.

Teta Kain