There’s now a thriving beaver population in Indiana that leaves evidence of its presence all along the banks of lakes and streams. Wherever you see trees that have been chewed off near the ground, you know that somewhere nearby there is a beaver colony.

These busy aquatic animals live in scraggly mounds of sticks and branches that are usually nestled into a muddy bank. We discovered such an assemblage recently while fishing at an Indiana lake and lingered in the area hoping to see a beaver. We soon spotted what appeared to be a branch swimming across the water, then we realized it was a beaver taking home its "catch of the day." Fascinated, we made it a point to visit the beaver lodge whenever we were at the lake around sunset.

While it was fun to watch the beavers swimming, all we could see was their heads. By following one across the lake we hoped to see it get out of the water.

To our surprise, however, the beaver simply turned and followed the shoreline, swimming rapidly for about a half mile before disappearing into a dense clump of willows. We heard a great ruckus while it chewed down a tree that we could see moving towards the water’s edge.

When the beaver promptly abandoned it, I wanted to scold it for being wasteful. Later we learned that overpopulation of willows is a problem for park rangers who would have to clear them if it weren’t for the beavers.

We spent many happy evenings observing our new furry friends. These shy aquatic creatures seemed to have an uncanny way of sensing when we were following them and would go to great lengths to throw us off their trails.

We learned to respect their comfort zones and to avoid sudden movements or noises. Our biggest frustration, however, was that since beavers are nocturnal, they seldom come out until it’s nearly dark. We were hoping to photograph them in good light.

Our efforts were finally rewarded one evening when two beavers began feeding on a nearby bank while the sun was still fairly high in the sky. One chewed off a small willow that it carried into the water’s edge to enjoy for supper. It looked up at us numerous times, but didn’t seem to mind when our boat floated in rather close.

While our new furry friend nibbled its branch on shore, we munched salads in our boat. Having dinner with them was an unforgettable experience!