I have a 5 acre beaver pond behind the house that was surrounded by a swamp that was chock full of beavers last year. This spring, a wall in the pond eroded and lowered the water level about 3 feet. Now the pond is about 3 acres in size and the surrounding marsh in now dry land. Surprisingly, the beavers didn't fix the breach in the wall and worse yet they abandoned the pond altogether. The lodges are empty and vegetation is growing on top of them. Their are no cuttings or beaver runs anywhere to be found. I'm no beaver expert but it seems strange that they would all abandon the area since there's tons of food around. I'm just curious and was hoping some of you beaver guys could provide a little information about beaver behavior.

You sure somebody didn't trap them out?

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Characteristic WS

Either someone trapped them out...or they ate themselves out of preferred food and migrated. The first is the most likely.

Around here it would have likely been cougars that got them.

Thanks for quick responses guys. The area is pretty secluded and I didn't give anyone permission to trap. That doesn't mean someone didn't sneak in I guess.

A thieving trapper may have snuck in and out in a hurry with your beavers. He may have left some evidence. Take a close look at the crossovers and channels for support sticks on an angle conducive to supporting a Conibear, or a stick stuck in the mud vertically for the cable/wire.
Another possibility would be that someone snuck in and shot them. Is there evidence that the dam was pull out rather than naturally washed out? That makes shooting them easier.

Are you a Cop ? .......LMAO ! ....

Where I trap I haven’t seen them abandon good habitat. Quite the contrary. I trap them out of a pool and then the 2 year olds move back in within a year.