This morning I was walking along the riparian forest trails.
In a spot where beavers can sometimes be found, I heard tail slapping although it appeared somewhat cautious to me, as if unsure, although the beaver seemed large in size.
I thought that the beaver had not been certain regarding my presence because I was rather far from the river and I would say that, frequently, under such conditions, the beaver would not make a splash at all.
Especially, because, according to my estimates of the territorial layout, I was leaving this beaver’s family range and if the beaver had any kin out and about, they were likely behind me and in the direction I was taking.
As I trod on, there was another, much louder splash, some 100 – 150 metres ahead from the first beaver’s location.
I am fairly certain it was not the same beaver – the interval was too short for the beaver to have swum there and beavers would unlikely follow me so closely, they would prefer keeping their distance rather than swimming almost abreast with me; also, there is a large tree that has fallen into the river and around this tree, much debris has accumulated forming a jam which cannot be swum under and which would thereby take more time to overcome.
The second splash occurred on the other side of the large tree and its jam.
I was somewhat confounded because, I have mentioned before, I believe that beavers observe the distance into which the subject of interest is moving (whether it is moving toward its other family members) and according to my territorial estimates, I was moving away from the specific beaver territory.
Also, the beavers were unlikely warning one another because they were very close to one another and if the first beaver had heard me, the second had, as well (especially, because after the first splash I spoke to my dog).
Additionally, this second splash was exuberantly loud it should be noted.
A bit confounded, I kept walking downstream where, in the usual spot, some 300 metres or so downstream, I heard other beavers foraging.
These beavers belonged to the downstream family (a new territory) and I had to assume that these were the individuals warned by at least one of the formerly met beavers (because I was headed in their direction and because the second splash was loud enough to carry far).
What puzzled me was that the warning had been sent from what I had considered another family’s territory or the boundary between two family territories.
In fact, I think that the territories are divided somewhere around the large fallen tree or even slightly downstream from it.
Thereby, the beavers that had slapped their tails, were either on their territory boundary or they were trespassing, or they were from different family units (one beaver from the family upstream and the other from the family downstream).
I wondered if I had perhaps unwittingly averted a territorial conflict because the scenario that made most sense to me was that the first beaver had been on its own turf (splashing to send alarm to its own family members or even to warn the trespasser/neighbour as the slap had not been loud and it had been either indecisive or meant to be heard in close quarters).
Thus, the first beaver might not have slapped its tail in response to my presence at all but it might have perceived the presence of the neighbour close to its territorial boundary or already having crossed it slightly.
The second beaver, in my regard, slapped its tail already in response to my presence (because I had given it away by speaking) and in order to ensure that its warning travelled well downstream to its family (which, as I confirmed, was foraging not very far off).
I find this situation curious and I also believe that at least the second beaver (because I am not very certain about the splash produced by the first beaver) risked its own safety (due to the proximity of a potential rival) in order to send a warning to its family that they should watch out.
On the other hand, I would not say that these beavers perceive me as a great threat.
I have not habituated them at all but they are somewhat used to me and often they do not react to my presence, or they briefly react and then resume foraging, or they even try to check me out.
Thusly, I do not believe the second beaver felt there was a grave security threat to its family in my person (unless the second beaver had not recognized me because I was much farther from the shore than I had been in the spot where the first beaver slapped its tail; but, as I stated, I spoke out).
However, if the second beaver had perceived danger by its neighbour, the second beaver’s mindset might have been affected by the looming conflict and the unusual context within which we met.
Thus, the sense of endangerment that this beaver might have felt, could have translated into his urgency to protect his family by overreacting to my presence.
This observation was extremely interesting.
There is a young beaver in the downstream family group which might have been performing forays into other territories in order to determine whether to disperse or not.
On the other hand, the second beaver could have been an adult (not a yearling) who was simply patrolling its territory boundary and happened upon a neighbour who was perhaps doing the same thing (although the upstream family also forage close to this boundary and this could have been how the upstream neighbour had sensed the presence of the downstream neighbour).
The splash was very intense, and I would rather ascribe it to a large, adult beaver (especially, as adults are likelier to become so highly invested in the safety and wellbeing of their family while younger beavers do not always send out these warnings to their parents if the alarm itself puts them under threat).
However, I have this nudging feeling that it was the yearling and not the adult that produced the second, altruistic splash, and while I cannot prove it, I thought I should note it, nevertheless.
If mating season is not yet over (although I believe it is because February was very warm and I observed some mutual grooming in mated pair in January already), prospecting mates could have been a reason to intend a trespass, as well.
There had been one yearling (born in 2022 and not in 2023) in the upstream family group although I suspect that she/he has dispersed already.
This beaver would not have been mated and perhaps if this beaver was a female, some scent cues might have given away her age and reproductive status even if she had dispersed recently (which I cannot confirm – she might still be there).
I appreciate the second beaver’s brave effort to put its family first despite a potential conflict.
If I am correct, the upstream beaver had already spotted the downstream neighbour and the downstream beaver was informed that there was the other beaver nearby (as a result of the quieter splash).
All in all, if there had been any tension, it did not gave rise to a fight for all was quiet after I left.
Notes by Ieva 