"GOING FOR GROCERIES"

Beaver (North American) - 7 Photos

There appeared to be no beavers swimming near the lodge or anywhere in the pond, but eventually one beaver slowly swam in and cautiously approached the creek below (Photo #1 through Photo 3).

He/she paused halfway down and checked the surroundings before proceeding into the creek below and eventually out of sight.

The beaver was large but it wasn't until scrutinizing the photos, that it became apparent this was "Mum". And you can see clearly from Photo #4 through Photo #6, her mammary glands from which she has been recently been feeding her offspring. 

But now, obviously, the youngster(s) are transitioning to greens, albeit tender in nature. In the past, I've seen the beavers born the previous year retrieving lush green grasses and bringing them back to the lodge, most likely for the newest arrivals, before reappearing from the lodge to munch on floating logs & branches.

It was some time before Mum returned. She might have been having something to eat herself before tending to the chore at hand of selecting a fresh willow branch to take back to the lodge (Photo #7).

And then it was the small climb up the bank, back into the pond and a swim back to the lodge with the groceries.

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7