Humans are not the only animals that are fantastic architects.

Please read this article to find out how animals put our construction skills to shame.

1. Beavers:

For a good reason, Beavers are the most well-known animal for being innovative and efficient with their construction skills. These intelligent builders collect sticks and mud to construct dams which make their predator-protected pond. Also, this creates a place for easy access to food when the extreme winter weather appears. The average Beaver dam is around 6 feet high and 5 feet wide. However, in 2007, experts spotted a Beaver dam in Alberta, Canada. The dam stretched for an incredible 2,788 feet! It was said that the dam would have taken around 20 years to build!

The Washington Department of Wildlife and Fish says, “Beaver families live in lodges within the dams and are constantly ‘busy as beavers’ adding to and repairing the structures.”

We can all agree that these amazing, intelligent builders are one of the world’s greatest architects. What do you think?

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2. The Vogelkop Bowerbird:

These small, brown-coloured birds are based in the mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula in Western New Guinea, Indonesia.

Male Vogelkops build small huts called bowers. These bowers are made of grass and sticks from the Vogelkop collected. The spectacular purpose of the bower is to attract potential mates.

For the male Vogelkop to attract his mate, he decorates his small hut with berries, sticks: beetles: fruit etc. However, these colourful delicacies are unfortunately later abandoned as the birds do not use these huts to raise their young.

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3. Paper Wasp:

Paper Wasps are examples of notable architects. This is because they gather, collect and construct many things together to form their water-resistant nests.

To construct their nests, they must collect dead wood and plant stems to mix with their saliva. This odd mixture of materials creates the grey/brown papery material.

A fascinating feature of the Paper Wasp’s nest is that the Wasps create their defence mechanism. This is when they secrete a chemical around the nest which repels ants. Repelling the ants away from their nests means that no eggs or brood are taken or destroyed. Pretty clever, don’t you think?

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ARTICLE WRITTEN BY LYDIA EVANS