Adirondack Beaver 177 



to show that he either voluntarily leaves the lodge or is driven away 

 by the female at about the time the young are born and leads a 

 more or less solitary life in the vicinity, or perhaps associates with 

 young of the previous year and with other males that may be in 

 his neighborhood. 



The length of a beaver's life is not definitely known, except 

 probably for such as have been raised in captivity. Seton says ('09, 

 Vol. 1. p. 472) that they live from 12 to 15 years. Enos Mills ('13, 

 p. 193) mentions a beaver which he had glimpses of " through 

 eighteen years, and he must have been not less than four years of 

 age when I first met him." 



Enemies of the Beaver 



Aside from man the principal enemies of the beaver are con- 

 sidered to be wolves and foxes, bears," the lynx and the wildcat, 

 fishers and otters ; and among birds, the great horned owls and the 

 goshawks. In the north where the wolverine occurs, this animal is 

 also said to be an enemy. In the Adirondacks the most common 

 natural enemies are probably foxes, great horned owls and gos- 

 hawks, but the toll taken by these is of course probably limited 

 wholly to young beavers pounced upon from time to time when 

 they are ashore. I found one little beaver in the Adirondacks 

 which appeared to have met its end in this way. 



The muskrat is by some persons considered an enemy of the 

 beaver because of the mischief it occasionally does by tunneling 

 through the beaver dams. 



Food and Feeding Habits 



Food. In food habits the beaver is vegetarian. Where the aspen 

 or poplar occurs its bark is eaten to a greater extent than that of 

 any other tree. The various kinds of bark fed upon have been 

 mentioned in the first part of this report. In the summer months 

 the beaver undoubtedly feeds also upon a great variety of tender 

 grasses and sedges, buds and young leaves, as well as roots or 

 rhizomes of water lilies, flags and other plants growing about 

 water or in the water ; probably also ground-growing berries. 



About the middle of August the beaver begins to prepare for 

 the winter by laying in a supply of freshly cut boughs which are 

 stored usually in the water by the lodge. When the pond is frozen 

 over the animals may then dive beneath the ice from their lod^e. 



