Well I’ll be damned! Adorable rescued beaver follows his natural instincts and blocks up a doorway with sticks at his rehab center in Massachusetts
- Video shows baby beaver, called Nibi, happily bounding back and forth to collect sticks to create the dam and block the doorway of his room at rehab center
- Nibi is being cared for by staff at the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center
- He immediately began building the dam when his new roommate – a fellow beaver – was placed a different enclosure
They say practice makes perfect and one adorable beaver took this to heart as he was filmed building a dam at the doorway of his room at a rehab center in Massachusetts.
Video shows the baby beaver, called Nibi, happily bounding back and forth to collect his sticks to create the dam and block the doorway.
Nibi, who is being cared for by staff at the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center in Chelmsford, immediately began building the dam when his new roommate – a fellow beaver – was placed a different enclosure.
As soon as the beaver Ziibi left, Nibi saw his chance and quickly began collecting sticks and trying to block the doorway.
Video shows the baby beaver, called Nibi, happily bounding back and forth to collect his sticks to create the dam and block the doorway.=
Video, posted by the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center, shows Nibi pushing a dozen sticks across the room towards the doorway with his head
Nibi loses control of some of the sticks by the time he reaches the doorway, so he quickly places three sticks across the doorway before bounding back to collect the other sticks he had dropped
Nibi, who is being cared for by staff at the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center in Chelmsford, immediately began building the dam when his new roommate – a fellow beaver – was placed a different enclosure
Video, posted by the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center, shows Nibi pushing a dozen sticks across the room towards the doorway with his head.
Nibi loses control of some of the sticks by the time he reaches the doorway, so he quickly places three sticks across the doorway before bounding back to collect the other sticks he had dropped.
The beaver collects the other sticks one by one, carefully placing them on the ever-growing dam. At one point, he appears so happy with his endeavor that he bounds into the air in his rush to collect more sticks.
Staff at the rehab facility, which provides care to injured or orphaned local wildlife, said they had given Nibi an hour to himself in the rehab room to reward him for his ‘good behavior’ towards his new roommate Ziibi.
‘Nibi immediately started building a dam at the door where his roommate exited,’ the staff quipped as they shared the video.
The beaver collects the other sticks one by one, carefully placing them on the ever-growing dam. At one point, he appears so happy with his endeavor that he bounds into the air in his rush to collect more sticks
Staff at the rehab facility, which provides care to injured or orphaned local wildlife, said they had given Nibi an hour to himself in the rehab room to reward him for his ‘good behavior’ towards his new roommate Ziibi
Video shows the baby beaver, called Nibi, happily bounding back and forth to collect his sticks to create the dam and block the doorway
The staff initially struggled to keep Nibi and Ziibi in the same room without them fighting, as beavers are incredibly territorial. But staff said the pair are now ‘tolerating’ each other and can be in the same room without fighting.
Nibi was rescued by the rehab staff and at the time he weighed just one pound.
They have made repeated attempts to reunite him with his family – but to no avail thus far.
Nibi’s decision to quickly build a doorway at the doorway of his rehab room shows him following his natural instinct.
In the wild, beavers use trees, mud and stone to create a dam to stop the movement of water in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams – creating bodies of water with a low current where they can protect themselves from predators.
Both the Eurasian beaver and the American beaver were almost driven extinct by hunting in the early 20th century.
The staff initially struggled to keep Nibi and Ziibi (pictured together) in the same room without them fighting, as beavers are incredibly territorial. But staff said the pair are now ‘tolerating’ each other and can be in the same room without fighting
HOW AND WHY DO BEAVERS BUILD DAMS?
Beavers are found across the northern hemisphere and are among planet’s most skilled builders.
This reputation has earnt them the nickname ‘nature’s engineers’.
They fell trees by gnawing at their trunks and use the resulting sticks to construct dams to stop the movement of water in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams – creating a bodies of water with a low current.
The mammals then use sticks and mud to create a second structure – a large dome-shaped island that can reach as high as ten feet (3m) tall and up to 1,600ft (500m) long.
Each island includes two underwater entrances and a living chamber above water where the animals sleep and shelter.
Beavers often line the walls of this chamber with dry leaves and plants to insulate it during winter.
It remains unclear exactly why beavers build dams, but scientists speculate the creatures use it for warmth and shelter in the winter and as protection from predators.
Beavers are strong swimmers, and creating a reservoir of water allows the animals to play to their strengths to escape those higher in the food chain.
The biggest beaver dam ever discovered measured 2,790ft (850m) – more than twice the length of the Hoover dam.
The woodland construction, found in the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park in Northern Alberta, Canada, was so expansive it could be seen from space.
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