BEAVER 277 



settle elsewhere. These and other changes occur annually and very often lead to 

 the abandonment of the colony. During the floods of the Elbe and Mulde in 1890 

 the colonies were first undermined, intense cold then set in, and the half-frozen 

 animals were driven by hunger from their hiding-places and wandered with great 

 difficulty over floating ice and snow-covered plains to the open water. Following 

 the warm, waste waters of factories, the Elbe beavers often came near human 

 habitations, and many of them, incapable of escaping, were there killed by the 

 peasants. Floating ice also brings disaster to the beaver, which though au expert 

 swimmer, and often escaping the blocks of ice, is sometimes crushed by them, or 

 perishes from fatigue. The Griinewalde, near Schbnebeck, sustained a great loss 

 of beavers so late as 1893. The settlements on the Elbe became blocked by ice, 

 which either stopped up the entrances to the dwellings, or crushed them, so that 

 out of eleven colonies only four were left. Many beavers are caught in the nets 

 of fishermen, and others die in traps intended for otters. In 1889 beavers took 

 up their quarters in a ditch near Wartenburg, and this gave the signal for the 

 almost complete destruction of the numerous colonies near Wittenberg ; one man 

 having, it is said, shot nine beavers in three days on a private estate during the 

 flood. 



The most remarkable habit of the beaver is its instinct for building, which 

 is shown in many different ways. Where it leads an undisturbed life, near quiet 

 rivers or ponds, it erects large " lodges," which, according to their situation, bear 

 different names. Those on islands are called island-lodges, while those on shore, 

 which barely touch the water, are known as bank-lodges, and those in the water 

 near the shore as water-lodges. Land-lodges are those near the water, but placed 

 on firm ground. Besides the real lodges, the beaver builds mounds supported by 

 thick poles, in front of the entrances from the shore, partly to hide them and 

 partly to serve as provision stores. All these structures are more or less of the 

 same height, which is 6 to 10 feet. So soon as one of the lodges becomes 

 useless in consequence of damage, or by a change in the water-level, an upper 

 storey is added, so that, when consisting of three floors, it reaches the height of 

 10 feet. The area covered by the lodge is generally circular, the diameter being 

 equal to the height of the hut, but, when required by the conditions of the place, 

 it may be oblong. In Norway there have been found beaver-lodges of the ordinary 

 height, which were from 25 to 50 feet in length. These appear to have been 

 shore and water lodges, which extend so far down into the water that even when 

 the stream is low the entrance is not exposed. 



The lodge is oven-shaped, and generally consists of one storey; the floor 

 being smooth, and just above the water-level. It has an arched roof about 

 20 inches thick, and the space is frequently divided into chambers by vertical 

 walls. This arrangement becomes necessary when several beavers of the same 

 age begin to start their own establishments, as it provides each family with a 

 separate home. When the lodge to be divided is of oblong form, the wall is not 

 built across but down the middle. This appears a strange arrangement, but it 

 is easily explained if we consider that a chamber inhabited by one family and 

 provided with its own entrances and outlets, is really a complete lodge, and 

 consequently must give access to the water ; while, on the other hand, it should be 



