Editing Beaver (section)

===Territories and spacing===
[[File:Castor fiber vistulanus2.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A beaver on a water bank|[[Eurasian beaver]] near its dam.]]
Beavers typically disperse from their parental colonies during the spring or when the winter snow melts. They often travel less than {{convert|5|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, but long-distance dispersals are not uncommon when previous colonizers have already exploited local resources. Beavers are able to travel greater distances when free-flowing water is available. Individuals may meet their mates during the dispersal stage, and the pair travel together. It may take them weeks or months to reach their final destination; longer distances may require several years.{{sfn|Müller-Schwarze|Sun|2003|pp=101–103}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McNew|first1=L. B.|last2=Woolf|first2=A.|year=2005|title=Dispersal and Survival of Juvenile Beavers (''Castor canadensis'') in Southern Illinois|journal=The American Midland Naturalist|volume=154|issue=1|pages=217–228|doi=10.1674/0003-0031(2005)154[0217:DASOJB]2.0.CO;2|jstor=3566630|s2cid=86432359 }}</ref> Beavers establish and defend [[Territory (animal)|territories]] along the banks of their ponds, which may be {{convert|1|–|7|km|1|abbr=on}} in length.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Graf|first1=P. M.|last2=Mayer|first2=M.|last3=Zedrosser|first3=A.|last4=Hackländer|first4=K.|last5=Rosell|first5=F.|year=2016|title=Territory size and age explain movement patterns in the Eurasian beaver|journal=Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde|volume=81|issue=6|pages=587–594|doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2016.07.046|bibcode=2016MamBi..81..587G }}</ref>

Beavers mark their territories by constructing scent mounds made of mud and vegetation, scented with castoreum.{{sfn|Runtz|2015|p=128}} Those with many territorial neighbors create more scent mounds. Scent marking increases in spring, during the dispersal of yearlings, to deter interlopers.<ref name="Rosell 1997">{{cite journal | last1=Rosell | first1=Frank | last2=Nolet | first2=Bart A. | year=1997 | title=Factors Affecting Scent-Marking Behavior in Eurasian Beaver (''Castor fiber'') | journal=[[Journal of Chemical Ecology]] | volume=23 | issue=3 | pages=673–689 | doi=10.1023/B:JOEC.0000006403.74674.8a | bibcode=1997JCEco..23..673R | hdl=11250/2438031 | s2cid=31782872 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> Beavers are generally intolerant of intruders and fights may result in deep bites to the sides, rump, and tail.<ref name=Pelagic/> They exhibit a behavior known as the "[[dear enemy effect]]"; a territory-holder will investigate and become familiar with the scents of its neighbors and react more aggressively to the scents of strangers passing by.<ref name="Bjorkoyli 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Bjorkoyli|first1=Tore|last2=Rosell|first2=Frank|year=2002|title=A Test of the Dear Enemy Phenomenon in the Eurasian Beaver|journal=[[Animal Behaviour (journal)|Animal Behaviour]]|volume=63|issue=6|pages=1073–1078|doi=10.1006/anbe.2002.3010|hdl=11250/2437993|s2cid=53160345|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Beavers are also more tolerant of individuals that are their kin. They recognize them by using their keen sense of smell to detect differences in the composition of anal gland secretions. Anal gland secretion profiles are more similar among relatives than unrelated individuals.<ref name= "Lixing 1998">{{cite journal | last1=Sun | first1=Lixing | last2=Muller-Schwarze | first2=Dietland | year=1998 | title=Anal Gland Secretion Codes for Relatedness in the Beaver, ''Castor canadensis'' | journal=[[Ethology (journal)|Ethology]] | volume=104 | issue=11| pages=917–927 | doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.1998.tb00041.x| bibcode=1998Ethol.104..917S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sun | first1=Lixing | last2=Muller-Schwarze | first2=Dietland |year=1997|title=Sibling recognition in the beaver: A field test for phenotype matching|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=54|issue=3|pages=493–502|doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0440| pmid=9299035 | s2cid=33128765 }}</ref>