It wouldn’t be half so horrible if they’d learned what we two-legged mammals teach our young’ns: “Finish the one you have before you take another.”
They are eating the living part of the tree. And they are only eating birch trees. I get it that beaver think birch is especially tasty. The Girl Scout Mint Cookie of the tree world, apparently. But this is so so disturbing.
That’s me near the entrance to Ghost Bay, inspecting the damage.
I do not find this even one bit of engineering clever.
We lost count of the number of birch trees toppled and munched all around the perimeter of Ghost Bay. And, as you can see by the lodge, the beaver aren’t even using much of the downed timber to reinforce their home.
These critters have made a royal mess of a place that means a lot to all of us on the lake. In the past, when I caught a glimpse of them swimming, I’d feel quite privileged to share the lake with them. For now, I’m just overcome by the wastefulness of their feeding habits.
What a terror! This has been happening to a friend of mine, too, and the damage is heartbreaking. I hope you can scoot those critters elsewhere some how!
Such a shame 🙁 Sad to lose such pretty trees….those nasty old beavers!!!
@hakucho and Evelyn…we are just heartsick about the loss of the birch trees.