Help me understand beaver behavior

Question: will a single 20# beaver maintain a dam?

And now the rest of the story;
My only experience with beavers are new pairs that flood cornfields. I get called before they have a chance to multiply. I catch the pair and wait for the call next season.

I have a location where I took a 30# and a 36# beaver in October so farmer could harvest corn. Everything went stale. Job done.

I was called back in December. Dam fixed,new bank den with some fresh mud and sticks on top. The now harvested corn field was flooded again and some corn was standing in the deepest spot. Duck hunter said he saw 2 monster beavers swim in to eat corn.

I put out 2 bait sets and a 330 by the dam as there was a good spot to intercept them checking the dam.

Next morning a 20# beaver in bait set then no sign of a beaver in a week. Opened the dam and dropped the water 10". Still no sign. Will give them a break and monitor.

Will the "giant" beaver travel to get to the flooded corn? Would a mature pair move into an area in December? Was the 20# beaver just working hard?

I have a hard time believing my 3 sets chased a mature pair out of their territory. I never had a trap set off without a catch and the small beaver I caught was drowned 4' deep in muddy water.

Anyone willing to teach me about beavers?

20 lbs might be a monster to a duck hunter with no beaver experience.

I caught a 21 lb'er this past summer, all by itself. It had been maintaining a dam in a small stream coming out of a pond. All small debris, no big sticks.

That helps.

This duck hunter should know a little. He removed 4 beavers from my traps last summer for me. But he claims one was 71#. He has used the same weight enough times that at least he believes it weighed 71#.

I might walk the ditch off the property to see if there is a colony upstream that has a big pair that like corn.

I think your plan to scout further upstream is a good one.

Duck hunters lie worse than fisherman. They mean well.

Bless their hearts.....

It has been 3 weeks and no new sign. Guess that answers my question. It seems like a single 20# beaver will keep up a dam pretty well.

What else has he got to do ? No girlfriend and no TV , lol .

A 20lb beaver in Illinois would be a kit that was born last spring?

here's my 2cents.. I primarily do beaver, I dunno, I just kinda started doing well with them and never stopped. I was doing it for money, for several years, but then started to think it was a job, so I stopped. anyway, im busier now more than ever, but I help farmers, nice people and ranchers and invest in the relationships... by helping and teaching... its nice to get 2 dozen eggs from a grateful family...

anyway...

beavers gonna beaver... I know it sounds like a joke but its not.. they have some standard behaviors and here in bama our weather is mild compared to most. So they don't have the same challenges other areas have. (freezing etc) regardless they are gonna want to stop water flow. They key off of current and noise. There was a study I read where they played the sound of running water and the beaver packed sticks and debris next to it.

so I almost exclusively trap at the dam. sometimes you have a stubborn male, that's smarter than the average bear, but 90% of the time, I get them on the dam. Now of course if its a culvert or something without a proper dam, you can't, but I don't see those much.


open up a breach in the dam, like 18->20 inches wide, make it deep... set 3 conibear 330 in a semi circle around the water side of the breach... add "fencing" sticks to force them to the openings of the traps... I generally get at least one the first night, sometimes 2. Keep doing this until no more beavers... open up the dam more, and start dropping the water. As the water level leading into the lodge openings drops, if there are more beavers they will find the breach and try to close it.

so what's important?

- Fencing... make it so that the only way to get to the running water is THROUGH the traps...

- Make the breach large enough to get their attention, but not so large they can go around your traps to fix it.

- Check them often. I check daily on new locations.. keep the traps submerged as the water drops (which is regulated usually)

- Remember, BEAVERS GONNA BEAVER... use their instincts against them...

ok ya'll old timers... flame away..

Chris in Bama