Felling trees with your teeth can be a noisy endeavor and if ever see beaver pause and quietly observe their surroundings, its not just to scan for predators. The largest rodents in North America take these quick breaks to listen for telltale cracks in the trees to determine when and where they will fall and avoid getting crushed. The survival mechanism is an instinctual behavior and is both fascinating and entertaining to watch.
While many view beavers as a nuisance species, biologists consider them a keystone species able to disproportionately modify their environment in ways that create new habitats and resources for other organisms. Using their orange colored teeth which have an enamel containing iron, beavers chew through trees and build dams which encourages the growth of wetlands. Their reintroducing can help mitigate drought and wildfires.
If you ever see a beaver taking five from their labor intensive tree felling, it’s not to admire their own work, rather its a precautionary measure to make sure they stay out of harms way and don’t become part of the dam they are working on.