Various mammals live near rivers
Otters and minks feed in the water. For the beaver, the river and its banks are their main route and shelter, and they feed mainly on coastal vegetation. Beaver-felled trees can be found on the river banks and beaver dams can be seen on the river. However, the beaver eats bark and twigs mainly in winter. In summer and early spring, they feed on herbs. Beavers dig burrows into the river banks where the shores are lower, and also build high nesting piles from branches. Dams are built by beavers so that the water covers the entrance to their burrow and maintains the required water level in their nest. The burrows dug by beavers also provide shade for other aquatic mammals. In winter, the otter, for example, uses them to get under the ice. Because of the valuable fur, the beaver was hunted to extinction in many countries in Europe a couple of hundred years ago. They were repopulated to most places in the middle of the last century. Currently, beavers can be found in almost all European countries.
An otter is a predator that catches their food in the water. They are about the size of a dachshund, only with even lower legs, and a longer body and tail. The otter eats fish and other aquatic animals, such as frogs, crustaceans, and waterfowl chicks.
Minks are also predators that eat all the animals they can catch. In Europe, the native European mink was once common in most countries. The American mink, which is considerably smaller than the otter, is a newcomer who has outcompeted the European mink, and pushed it to the verge of extinction in nature in the last couple of decades. However, in the most recent decade, the European mink conservation efforts have been more successful. One of the most successful projects was in 2009 in Estonia, where the European mink has been reintroduced to one of their islands, Hiiumaa.
- Invertebrate animal
- Vertebrate animal
- Feeds mostly on plants
- Feeds mostly on fish and other animals
- Is about the size of a dachshund
- Is about the size of a wolfhound
Birds by the river
More or less the same birds live around the larger slow-flowing parts of the river, and in the partially closed estuaries, as around lakes. There are only a few bird species that have adapted to live in the faster-flowing sections of the river. Among them are the white-throated dipper and the common kingfisher, who can mostly be seen during the winter months.
The white-throated dipper is sometimes called the river pastor, because, with its dark black-brown feathers and white throat base, it looks like a pastor. They can often be found under mill dams and on rapids. They dive from the edge of the ice and swim right along the riverbed to hunt invertebrates and fish.
The common kingfisher is a very colourful bird. Their back is light blue, their wings and tail are dark blue, and their abdomen is bright orange. They are a little bigger than a sparrow. They feed on smaller fish and aquatic invertebrates. They dig their nests into the higher shore, to a depth of about half a meter.
I now know that…
Otters and minks search for food on the river banks. Beavers build dams on rivers to maintain the necessary water level in their nest. White-throated dippers and common kingfishers have adapted to living on the faster-flowing sections of the river.
