Beaver Family

A family of four beavers take a day trip out of their lodge and vacation on the shores of Petrie Island in Ottawa's east end. At first, I spotted the one beaver grooming beside a hole it made in the ice. I sat with it for a while until I saw it was comfortable with me being there at a distance. Then I hear a "bloop," and out comes a second beaver from the hole. Just when I thought I hit the jackpot with two beavers I heard a third "bloop" and out pops number three. It couldn't get any better, right? Wrong! A fourth "bloop" produces a the final beaver. The family sat ashore washing up, chewing on twigs, huddling and resting. No beaver tail thrashing happened to signal them feeling threatened. It was an encounter I was not expecting but was so grateful to have experienced. Beavers are herbivores and live in colonies. When a beaver feels threatened, it will whip and splash its tail in the water to warn other members of its colony of the presence of something it considers potentially threatening. According to Canadian Geographic, "A beaver’s teeth never stop growing over the course of their lifetime. In order to keep them at a healthy size, beavers grind their upper and lower teeth against each other, filing them down. Chewing on wood all day long also helps keep their teeth strong and at a safe size." And don't forget - the beaver is Canada's national animal/symbol.