We were paddling in Crooked lake and ran across this beaver den.
This is the largest beaver den I have ever seen...Its obvious that the kids have moved back in and mom & dad had to expand.

Wow, I hope they didn't take out a subprime loan for that baby.

Seriously, that is very cool. We saw a big one going up to Temperance, but not that big!! Thanks for sharing.

That den is a monster!

is that in the bay where the horse river exits the lake?

its at the end of the long bay between Friday and Thursday bay.

while not as high as the Crooked Lake lodge this one on Pocket creek is the most massive i have seen..sort of a duplex of dens.
makes me wonder if the beavers are building for a hard winter??

oh man.....is another late iceout in store?

Well, if it's still cold in early May, we now know where we can find a warm place to crash, Kanoes.

The size of the feed bed is an indicator of the number of inhabitants.

Small house, low maintenance (meaning not very well mudded) & small feed bed usually has two extra large to blanket sized beaver in it.

Bigger house, well mudded, big feed bed usually has many young (small to medium sized) beaver in it.

Another indicator of many small beaver in a house is a whole lotta trees mowed down in the area. If feed beds start appearing as early as late August, it could mean a harsh winter but haven't seen that this year.

Great Outdoors---well thats good solid info from someone who really knows animal behavor..most of what i know about the BW/Q is just "in passing"--surface kind of stuff.maybe a good winter project would be to dig into some of the nature books my wife has around the house.most of my BW reading is guide books and storys about the old days..

I have a question--do most of you use the term "beaver den?" I've always heard "beaver lodge." Not that it makes any difference, as I'm sure either is correct, but just wondering.

Right three horse. "Beaver lodge" or "beaver house" is what they are usually called.