CHELMSFORD, Mass — You might think a beaver dam where there's no water isn't worth a log, but you'd be wrong.
An adorable baby beaver at a wildlife rescue center in Massachusetts who has gone viral with her dam building is proving that.
Nibi, an orphan living at the Newhouse Wildlife Rescue Center doesn't get along with another female beaver named Ziibi. So when Ziibi was moved to another enclosure, Nibi became busy.
Founder Jane Newhouse said as soon as Ziibi left the rehab room, Nibi instantly began damming up the door through which her nemesis had departed. Once she got the foundation laid, she left with a spring in her step that captivated the internet.
The hop was rare enough that biologists contacted Newhouse, wondering if the move was something she picked up from another animal friend.
"They asked if I had raised Nibi with a rabbit or some animal that hops a lot," Newhouse said.
But it's just something she does when she's excited. As for the dam building, that's instinctual behavior for baby beavers, even without parental instruction.
"It's so ingrained in them, they'll take anything," Newhouse said.
That includes toys, blankets or anything else they can get a hold of.
Newhouse said Nibi is more inspired to build dams when she hears rain or when a faucet is running. She hops out of excitement when she hears it, but she's still hopping mad about Ziibi.