Now is the time when beavers are gearing up for the long winter ahead. Beavers spend very little time out in the open during winter. Maintaining opening in the ice requires too much energy. Escape from predators is more difficult. With their dams intact and repaired, now is the time that winter food is gathered and stored below water. You can easily find these winter caches by canoeing along the shore edge and peering into 6 to 10 feet of water. What you will see is a large group of branches. It looks like a small forest growing under water. Often some of the branches will still have leaves attached.

Beavers take them to the bottom of the pond and jab them into the soft bottom during autumn. When a beaver gets hungry, they simply take a little swim to their underwater cold storage, nip off a branch, and take it back to the lodge.

Beavers have a unique adaptation that allows them to gnaw underwater without getting a mouth full of water. Their split lip can be closed and sealed behind their teeth. Once safely back in the lodge, they strip off the bark and inner cambium layers where the nutrients are found.