This beaver lodge, built on a tributary of the Snake River with the Grand Tetons in the background, creates an idyllic sight. The busy beaver works both sides of the dam, cutting saplings, and gathering up enough material to build a lodge. The interior of beaver lodge is a woven lattice work of branches, twigs, sapling logs and mud. This lodge may be home for four to six beavers. By making a dam, the flooded area makes it easy for the beaver to gather trees that it wants. Saplings and branches are also taken into the pond to be stored for winter food.
Why do beavers build dams? Some naturalists suggest they eat the plants that grow in the deeper water behind the dam. Also, a dam makes it easy to swim to the trees they want. Calm water is an ideal location for a lodge. Water depth is another important aspect, as the lodge entrance is underwater. Another theory maintains the beaver desperately wants to quiet a noisy stream. Do beavers just seek peace and quiet?