Anatomy of a Food Cache

In Finishing the Food Cache I talked about how beavers arrange their food cache to maximize the space available. Yesterday I got this close up picture of a small food cache made up almost entirely of willow branches. Click on the photo to see the fine branch tips radiating out from the underwater core of the cache.

The beavers anchored the branches butt-first into the mud and the branches are interwoven with each other. A skilled floral arranger couldn't have done a better job!

The second picture shows the small lodge near the food cache. Based on the grass on the lodge and the minimum amount of mud I think this was an older lodge that has been renovated. This colony is probably a pair of young 2 year old beavers that met and bonded this summer and are now getting ready to spend their first winter together. If all goes well this winter they may start raising a family next year.