I was on a Woodland Caribou trip with Ben. We were going up a long winding creek. I was moving a little faster so when I got to a down tree I would make a passage way for us.  There was a large tree about 4 feet above the water with limbs sticking down into the water.  A beaver was trying to take advantage of it to start a dam.  I pulled a couple of sticks out and then started cutting some of the vertical limbs that were like bars blocking our way.  The beaver not only smacked his tail but through water on me several times.  I got through just as Ben was coming around the corner and I took off.  At the next obstacle Ben caught up and make some kind of comment about me making that beaver mad.

"That big flat tail makes a helluva wollup!"

yeah, but it isn't flat when it hits the water - had a beaver watching my canoe once, and slapping his tail a number of times.  then he just held his tail poised above the water, ready to hit it,  and watched the canoe (on shore) for a minute - he had his tail cupped, like an upside down spoon.  I got a very good look at that.  not sure if they all do it that way or not, or always that way but this guy did.  normally the splat happens so fast that you can't really see how the tail is held.

Beavers are quite active at night.  One of the things they do at night is cut down trees.  My son and I were in our tent after dark and we hadn't fallen asleep yet.  We heard this creaking sound and a big splash as the tree the beaver had cut down hit the water.  In the morning we could see the recently fallen tree.

Mad_Mat wrote on Oct 24^th, 2019 at 12:24am:


This makes a lot of sense and how they sometimes manage that bowling ball in the water sound.  Sometimes you'll get the flat slap but no Ker-Plunk.  Probably newbie beavers.