Science actually figured this one out. Beavers raised in captivity when exposed to a speaker playing river noises will cover it up with as much stuff as possible to hide the noise. So it’s the noise they have an issue with
There is a norwegian study that found that isolated beaver babies start piling up sticks and stuff at some point but do not build dams. They concluded (the scientists) that piling up stuff is genetic and building dams is cultural (has to be learned). I have no link but the study was made in Bø
Baby animal studies focused on play are always so cool. Like bees appearantly will play with objects that have nothing to do with their survival.
We do the same thing I think. Kids will pile up or mess about with any stuff you give them whether they have a cultural understanding of it’s use or not.
Then why not live away from the river or maybe in a lake?
They require ponds to live safely. They build dams which create ponds. Then they build little mound houses out of sticks and mud in the middle of the pond. The house only has underwater entrances. They can cut trees down and float them into the pond, where it is safer to eat. They’re mostly aquatic mammals.