Real water animals

Beavers have a fine, very dense undercoat followed by a second, coarser coat. The outer coat has a water-repellent layer. As a result, beavers are well designed to withstand cold water. To move quickly in the water, beavers have flippers between their toes and hind legs. Modifications in the mouth allow beavers to gnaw underwater without ingesting water. They can stay underwater as long as 15 minutes!

Gnawing architects

Beavers have orange incisors that are always growing. Because of gnawing, the teeth stay razor sharp as they cut past each other. Within minutes they can gnaw down a thin tree. With a thick tree, the beavers alternate: one gnaws while the other keeps watch. Beavers cut down as many as 50 trees each month. With these logs, the beavers build a dam and their nest (lodge). The dam keeps the lodge from flooding and from running dry. The lodge ensures that the beavers are well protected from enemies such as wolves and lynx.