A beaver dam in Northern Alberta, Canada, is so big that it’s been picked up on images recorded by orbiting satellites.
This beaver city, on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park, is 2,790-feet long â that’s longer than two Empire State Buildings placed end to end.
Dam big, in other words.
It’s common knowledge among biologists that beaver dams – which are made from trees, mud and stone – can often reach 1,500ft in length, but this one has stunned wildlife experts.
If you’re thinking that this is a lot of work for just one beaver, you’d be right. It’s thought that several beaver clans joined forces to produce this behemoth.
Park rangers think that it may have taken the determined creatures over 20 years to make it, and thanks to its remote location, it’s remained totally undisturbed.
Scientists first spotted it in 2008 while looking at Google Earth images.
Mike Keizer, spokesman for Wood Buffalo National Park, said: ‘Itâs in an almost totally inaccessible area of the park â you will not get there easily, if at all.
‘We have flown over it â they looked for a place, but itâs so boggy and with so many trees, we couldnât land the helicopter.
‘We just wanted to see if it was real.’
Beaver dams don’t just look impressive, however. They help the furry critters avoid predators and play a key role in keeping a forest environment healthy.Sharon Brown, a biologist from Beavers: Wetland and Wildlife, an educational organisation in North America, said: ‘Beavers build dams to create a good habitat.’They create a habitat with lots of water like a moat around their lodges so they can swim and drive and keep one step ahead of predators such as coyotes and bears.’These habitats are not just good for them but for other animals and the environment.’Their dams are also good because they slow the flow of water leading to less drought and less flooding.’And when plant matters dies in water it turns to peat and that is one of the best ways for storing CO2.’