World's Largest Beaver Dam Can Be Viewed From Space

In Alberta, Canada there is a remote forest area named the Wood Buffalo National Park. It's so remote it takes 3 days trekking over land through swamps and dense bush to get to it. In 2007 satellite images picked up the image of a massive structure there that before hadn't been viewed by man.

An explorer named Rob Mark set out to find the structure in 2008 but his first attempt failed due to bad weather. However that didn't stop him, months later he picked up the quest again and battled mosquitos so thick he said they sounded like helicopters and were far worse than those he had experienced in the Amazon.

He pushed through soft ground and thick foilage armed with information from Google Earth and topographical maps, while sleeping in a hammock long enough to recharge and continue his quest.

Then he finally reached a sight few if any humans have ever discovered, an 850 metre long beaver dam. It's twice the length of the Hoover Dam and can be easily recognized from space. It's the largest animal structure on the planet.

Ecologists believe the beavers began constructing the dam in 1975. They used logs, sticks and mud to build a structure so strong it would require dynamite to destroy it.

Credit: cbc.ca

Researchers believe the dam is home to many families of beavers that each built their own "lodges" and worked together to connect them to form one massive safe zone.

Beavers use their dams to control water and make moats they can swim in to evade predators. Inside they have caverns they sleep in and raise their young.

Beavers are incredible builders. They use their teeth to chew through trees and the bouyancy of the water to push or pull the logs into position. They then use moss and mud to pack it all in and create waterproof safe zones that they call home.

This is my second post about beavers, what can I say us Canadians love our furry lil water rodents 😊 I think this will probably be my last but no promises. I hope you enjoyed the story!

Thanks for reading,

@goldenarms