• merc
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    1 month ago

    Yeah, or at least there’s a running water sound nearby. If you play a recording of a sound of running water near a beaver, it will build a dam. It doesn’t even have to feel the running water. I’m not sure if it even has to be at the closest point it can get to the sound, or if it uses other cues like a narrowing of the area so that a dam will be the most effective.

    In this case, the hallway may be seen like a “choke point” for flow, so it’s a good spot for a dam.

    I’m curious what the thinking is for dam building. You’d think that a beaver would only build when it was actually in flowing water, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. But, what other things are they considering. Do they try to find the lowest point in an area at least? Do they consider how narrow the area is?

    • jaybone@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      If you keep playing the sounds will they just keep building the dam? How do they know when to stop?

      • merc
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        1 month ago

        In the real world they probably stop when they can no longer hear the rushing water. So, I assume if you’re continually playing the sound of rushing water, they’ll never stop.