11. August 2022| Wolf protection, Movies, Poland

Wolves on beaver dams

The dams built by beavers are used by wolves and other animals in various ways. Our photo trap recorded some of them over a period of several months.

Our photo traps in the Daleszycki Forest repeatedly recorded wolves walking along the dams built by beavers, both during the day and at night. Interestingly, other animals also moved along the dams: deer, elk and wild boar – potential prey for wolves, but also smaller predators – foxes and forest martens.

It seems that beaver dams are readily used by wolves to cross stream valleys and wetlands. These predators are reluctant to cross open, deeper water, and if they have the opportunity to cross a bridge, footbridge, fallen tree or beaver dam, they readily take advantage of it.

The dams and canals built by beavers help improve retention, which is important especially during summer droughts. Thanks to beavers, both wolves and other animals have a constant supply of drinking water, and the environment created by these rodents provides a rich food base for herbivores and places where game can take water and mud baths. In addition, the raising of water levels by beavers increases biodiversity and makes the area around the feeding grounds more inaccessible to humans, making the wildlife living there feel safer.

Wolves also use the dams to hunt beavers and, in the floodplains they create, also ungulates.

 

Recordings: T. Bracik, M. Wlazło, P. Gola

Text: Tomasz Bracik