in a different way, to take something you thought was ordinary, and show you why it's

amazing.

Today I'm here in Alaska, and you're never gonna look at beavers the same way again.

[OPEN]

Ok, so what do most people know about beavers?

They chew down trees, and they build dams.

But what most people don't know is without beavers, North America–and much of the world–would

be totally different than it is today.

Beavers are one of the ultimate keystone species—a plant or animal so important to an ecosystem,

that without it, the whole thing would basically break.

Their dams create habitats for dozens of species, filter and purify water, and enrich the soil

by trapping sediment and nutrients.

Beaver ponds reshape landscapes on such an enormous scale it impacts all other wildlife

and vegetation in the area.

Earth is home to two beaver species today: one in Europe, and these here in North America.

They're the second largest rodents living today, and like most rodents they have big

front teeth that never stop growing.

Beaver teeth are actually reinforced with iron, and with their enormous jaw muscles

they use those teeth to slice through bark and chop down trees.

Besides being carpenters, they even play the part of plumbers.

When a beaver hears the sound of running water, it drives them nuts, they know the dam has

sprung a leak and they have an uncontrollable instinct to go patch it up.

Beavers are ecosystem engineers second only to humans, and they stay pretty DAM busy keeping

this pond nice and full.

Beavers' urge to build can sometimes cause headaches, but NO beavers can be an even BIGGER

problem.

Before European colonists arrived, there were as many as 400 million beavers in the US and

Canada!

North America was covered with tens of millions of beaver dams.

Imagine between 5 and 30 beavers on every kilometer of stream or river on the whole

continent!

That's a lotta beavers.

But over a few hundred years they were almost hunted to extinction.

Beavers were big business.

They were trapped for fur, mostly to make hats, but also for sacs on their butts full

of castoreum—a pungent substance used in perfumes.

The British Hudson's Bay Company even tried to eradicate beavers from the Pacific Northwestv,

figuring with no beavers left to hunt, the United States would stop its westward expansion.

Wherever pioneers went, they killed every beaver they could find, despite the fact that

beavers were responsible for most of the farmland in the West.

Populations dwindled from millions to the low thousands.

Without beaver dams, huge areas of land are left with less water.

hundreds of species (like fish, birds, insects, and amphibians) are left without a habitat.

So… beaver dams are great for other species, but what's in it for the beavers?

Why do they build them?

For beavers the pond created by their dams is a safe place to build a home, called a

lodge, where they raise their young and keep away from predators.

Beavers are pretty awkward on land, but they are safe and happy in the water.

The entrance to a beaver lodge is underwater, so beavers can safely scoot in and out.

Since they don't hibernate, this lets them access underwater food stores even when their

ponds are frozen over.

Beavers' favorite foods are the leaves and soft outer bark of trees, but like most mammals,

they don't digest wood very well, so they eat their excrement to get the most out of

a meal… until it eventually comes out looking like sawdust.

A crew of beavers spotted in a pond is usually a family.

Beaver couples often mate for life and beaver kits live with their parents for a couple

years while they practice their engineering skills.

The oldest dams ever discovered are 100,000 years old telling us beavers or their close

relatives have been altering our landscapes even before we moved in.

And for most of the thousands of years we've lived together, we've lived in harmony.

Now that we've realized how important they are, beaver populations are starting to recover.

More beavers means more homes for fish and birds, fresher water, and less damage

from flooding and forest fires.

Beavers feature prominently in the oral histories of North America's First Nations people,

even playing a part in many creation myths, which is neat, because beavers really have

created much of the landscape we live in, showing us how old and important our relationship

is with the smartest thing in fur pants.

Stay curious!

If you want to see more of Alaska's incredible wild life, watch Wild Alaska Live, a special

3-night live event brought to you by PBS and BBC.

Check the description for more info.

Beavers are big as rodents go today, but during the Pleistocene, Earth was home to a beaver

called Castoroides the size of a black bear.

Too bad they went extinct.