Canada's National Animal

The North American Beaver (scientific name: Castor canadensis) has been a prominent species in Canada for thousands of years. Once living alongside the Giant Beaver Castoroides (now extinct), beavers are an essential part of the ecosystem here at Voyageur Provincial Park and many other aquatic environments in and around North America. Beavers are the largest rodents in North America, weighing on average 70lbs. They can be identified by their brown fur coat, webbed hind feet, and large, orange, front teeth. Their coats consist of two layers: the first is a thick, protective outer layer that is waterproof, and the second is a thin insulating layer. Special glands in the beaver's skin produces an oil that makes their fur waterproof. Their orange teeth get their color from being reinforced by iron, making them extra strong to chew through wood. They also have valves in their nose and ears that shut to keep water out while underwater. Their large, paddleshaped tail helps them swim and is used to slap the surface of the water as a warning signal to others around when they sense danger.

Where do beavers live?

You have probably seen a beaver’s home (called a hut or a lodge) in and around wetland areas. A beaver lodge is made from sticks, logs, and mud and can be built where water is slow-moving, like in a pond or lake, or built onto existing banks in areas where swifter moving water levels are more prone to fluctuations, such as along a river. They build tunnels Beaver

to enter in and out of the lodge from under the water surface and create a large open cavity inside to store food, escape from predators and raise their young. When it comes to choosing trees, their favorites are willow, alder, poplar, and birch. Beavers can also build dams to slow down or stop water flow, which increases the water depth in their habitat, ensuring there is enough water to use these escape tunnels not only in the summer months but in the winter as well. Making sure that the water level stays at relatively unchanging levels year-round is vital for their survival. Beavers also have the aptitude to know how to patch their lodges or dams when a leak occurs and will also keep building onto existing structures year after year to add strength.

What do beavers eat?

A beaver’s diet consists of vegetative material. They will eat the bark and leaves off of trees they fell as well as most types of aquatic vegetation found in their environment. If you are frequent visitors to a specific location year after year you may notice that for a few years you see beavers all the time, then one day it appears they have all left. This is because once they exhaust the food supply in an area, they move on to find another place to live. This then allows their original habitat to restore itself; young trees and plants can mature and generate new growth to create a flourishing ecosystem once again. Once replenished, the next generations of beavers will eventually come back and create their own homes there.

Beaver chewed tree stump

Raising their young:

Beavers can have 2-4 young, called kits, per year. They are usually born sometime between April and June. They are born covered with soft fur and with their eyes open and have the ability to start swimming at only 4 days old! These baby beavers will live with their parents in the same lodge until they are about 2 years old, so each lodge must be made big enough to accommodate large families.

Why are beavers important?

These rodents are very impressive creatures and one of the only creatures other than humans who can generate their own habitat. Beavers have an impact on what lives in their environment, which is why they are often labelled as Ecosystem Engineers. Altering a habitat creates opportunity for many other species from microscopic organisms to aquatic insects to amphibians and all kinds of birds to survive. They create and restore wetlands by flooding low lying woodland areas, an important circumstance as a result of the loss of wetland habitat due to the expansion of developed regions. What is also remarkable about beavers is their ability to change the land surrounding these bodies of water as well. By taking down larger, mature trees to build their dams they open up the forest canopy, allowing more sunlight to reach the forest floor. This then permits younger trees and other plants that have been laying dormant in the shade to grow, increasing biodiversity. This increased variety of flowers, shrubs and small trees become shelter and a food source for birds and insects, allowing them greater chance of survival and more habitat to raise their young. On top of that, the dams built by beavers can also increase groundwater levels. Having higher groundwater levels can help to reduce drought and, in turn, protect vegetation from wildfires. It is for all these reasons that beavers are known as a “keystone species”. This means that they are very critical for the ecology of their environment, and they help maintain the ecosystem structure. While many habitats become monocultures and species deficient due to the increased presence of invasive species, beavers help to restore habitats and increase native species’ populations. Without this keystone species there could be an ecological collapse, dramatically changing the whole makeup of an entire ecosystem.

History of beavers in the Ottawa River region

Historically in this region beaver pelts were a highly sought-after commodity in the days of fur trading in many places along the Ottawa River, including on the grounds of where Voyageur Provincial Park is today. Voyageur Provincial Park was a popular stopping point along the trade route, and the trapping of beavers and widespread trading of their fur for European markets in the 1700-1800s almost drove the beaver

population to extinction. This could have caused an ecosystem collapse and we would not have the park that we get to enjoy today. Luckily, due to the decline of popularity of furs, beavers were able to recover throughout the 1900s and are thriving in the park today.

Where to see beavers at Voyageur

Besides the Coureurs des Bois trail, you will be able to see the indication of a beaver's habitat in Champlain Bay near the beach and Iroquois Bay near the Boat Launch. The pond that is at the entrance to the trail is an ecosystem that a beaver has created. The beavers have made this pond by damming a slowmoving water source, flooding the forest and creating a wetland full of diverse species. It can often be seen covered in a small floating aquatic plant called Duckweed. From the trail you can see a beaver lodge on the far end, and you might notice some trees that the beaver has cut down. Now stumps, the remainder of these trees can show marks from the beaver's strong teeth, chewed to a point so the tree could easily fall over. If you have a canoe or kayak you can find lodges built throughout all bays of the park, not all of them accessible to view from land. Remember to bring your binoculars, and if you’re lucky, on a quiet early summer morning you might even get the chance to watch a newborn kit learning how to swim! Beaver lodge

Beaver pond

Be PARKsmart

Recreational water quality is routinely monitored at Ontario Parks designated beaches. Samples are tested at Public Health Ontario Laboratories for Escherichia coli (E.coli), an organism found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals.

Water Quality Factors

Recreational water quality is influenced by a number of factors, and can change between sampling periods. Influences include: • Heavy rainfall • Large numbers of water fowl • High winds or wave activity • Large number of swimmers

Beach Posting

Ontario Parks staff post signage at beaches (example below) when E.coli levels in the water exceed provincial standards. Signage is placed to warn bathers that the beach water may be unsafe for swimming. Swimming in beaches that are posted for elevated bacterial levels may cause: • Skin infections/rash • Ear, eye, nose and throat infections • Gastrointestinal illness (if water is consumed) Beach postings are based on E.coli counts in beach water samples taken within the past 24 hours, and are removed when test results show bacterial levels are acceptable.

Beach Closures

Ontario Parks staff may physically close beaches using caution tape and information signage in the instance that a health hazard exists that could present a health and safety risk to visitors (blue-green algae for example). Beach water quality can change at any time and guests should avoid swimming during and after storms, floods, heavy rainfall, or in the presence of large numbers of waterfowl.

How you can help

Ontario Parks guests can help maintain our beach water quality by following these simple guidelines: • Do not feed birds or other wildlife • Leave nothing behind- dispose of all garbage/food waste • Use designated pet beaches when swimming with your dog – pets are not permitted in Ontario Parks public beaches • Do not let children swim in soiled diapers • Do not use shampoos or soaps in lake water

To experience the perfect camping trip, you need to know that…

• The restaurant in the Park Store is the place to go if you need to eat or drink a little something (slush, ice cream, hot dogs, fries, hamburgers and more!) • You can get wood, ice, camping fuel and many other supplies at the Park Store. • Canoes and kayaks are available for rent at the

Park Store. • Extension cords and 15 Amp and 30 Amp adapters are available for rent at the park’s

Registration Office. • Laundry facilities are located in each campground in the comfort stations.