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A
ll plants and animals change the environment in which they live.
Trees create shade. Flowers produce odors. Squirrels dig burrows in
the soil. Woodpeckers drill holes in trees. And every animal eats
something. Most changes to the environment are small. Most plants and
animals living there continue to go about their business.
Some animals, however, change their environment a lot. As a result,
many animals living in the environment must move or die. Plants cannot
move, so if the changes are bad for them, they die. One animal that makes
big changes to its environment is the beaver.
Beavers live around water. They build a mud-and-stick lodge right in
the water. The entrance to the lodge is underwater. The part of the lodge
where they live and raise their young is above water. Beavers are safe and
comfortable in their lodges.
If a lake or pond is nearby, the beaver family makes its lodge there. If
there is only a stream, the beavers build a dam to make a pond.
A mud-and-stick lodge
A Change in the
Environment
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