Beaver Moans and Cave Drip

Beaver Moans and Cave Drip

From Music of Nature Podcast by Lang Elliott

February 3, 2026 · 5 min

About this episode

Lang Elliott captures the sounds of beavers and dripping water in a cave at Round Spring State Park.

Beaver Moans and Cave Drip - 5min 24sec May 10, 2024, 11pm. Round Spring State Park, north of Eminence, Missouri. Recorded by Lang Elliott. In the Ozark region of southern Missouri, Round Spring wells up into a large sinkhole, surrounded by steep forested slopes on all sides. The water is a vivid blue and flows out through a cavelike passageway at one end, emerging about a hundred feet away to form the headwaters of a large creek that meanders a short distance before flowing into the Current River. With some effort, I am able to place my soundscape microphone a few feet into the cave, where drips from the ceiling and walls make resounding plops, plinks, and snaps as they strike water and stones below. I record the dripping sounds for several hours (see “Cave Drip” track). Then, at 11pm, something unexpected happens. I start hearing the mournful moans and whines, and later the chewing sounds, of two American Beaver. What a delight! Earlier in the day, I had seen beaver swimming in the creek below. with one heading upstream and disappearing into the cavern. Apparently, the beaver have a den inside the cave, or at least a bed of tree stems and small limbs from which they feed. A…

People in this episode

Host: Lang Elliott

Topics covered

  • nature sounds
  • beavers
  • cave acoustics
  • Ozark region

Keywords

  • beaver moans
  • cave drip
  • soundscape
  • Round Spring State Park

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Cave Drip

Places: Beaver Moans, Eminence, Missouri, Ozark, Round Spring, the Current River

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