This past January, volunteers Rick and Kelly Stronks were walking the trails at Marsh’s Falls Nature Reserve when they noticed fresh beaver tracks in the snow. Following the trail back to an oxbow, where a beaver had constructed a bank lodge the previous winter, they found it active and set up trail cameras.

Beavers are well adapted to winter. In the fall, they typically build up a cache of branches stored underwater near the lodge, allowing them to feed safely beneath the ice. Their lodge provides protection from predators and insulation from the cold.

What the cameras captured over the next two months was fascinating!

The beaver was active every day, wandering through the snow, cutting small trees and branches, and returning to the lodge. Even more surprising, one video revealed a second beaver near the entrance (photo above).

One detail stood out. Unlike typical behaviour, there was no visible food cache stored underwater for winter. Despite this, both beavers appeared to survive, even with a wolf passing through the area and following their trail.

Why didn’t they store food? Were they young and inexperienced? Or is this more common than we realize? Were these two beavers a mated pair, and will they produce young?

Moments like this remind us that nature is beautiful, complex, resilient, and sometimes mysterious. Taking the time to observe and explore it deepens our understanding of the wildlife that depends on these protected places, right here in the Lake of Bays region.