Lutra 46(2)_Busher_2003

Food caching behaviour of the American beaver in Massachusetts

At northern latitudes in North America beavers (Castor canadensis) store branches of woody plants in caches during the autumn. The food cache provides food for the beaver family during the winter when plant productivity is low and snow and ice restrict beaver movements. I examined the initiation and development of food caches and physical aspects of food cache locations at eight sites during autumn 2001 and autumn 2002 in western Massachusetts. Construction of caches began on September 28 (week 39) in 2001 and September 18 (week 38) in 2002. Median start date for caches was during week 41 (October 9-10) both years. Mean cache volume was 60.4 m3 in 2001 and 72.1 m3 in 2002. Change per week in cache volume was 8.9 m3 in 2001 and 9.2 m3 in 2002. Water depths where caches were constructed ranged from 1.00-2.05 m (mean = 1.31 m) during 2001 and 0.75- 1.85 m (mean = 1.26 m) during 2002. These observations of caching behaviour in the American beaver offer a means of comparison with the caching behaviour of the European beaver (Castor fiber).