🐾 North American Beaver

North American Beaver

North American Beaver

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Who it is

Scientific name: Castor canadensis
Family & relatives: A large rodent in the family Castoridae; its only close living relative is the Eurasian beaver.
How to spot it: A stocky brown rodent with a flat, scaly, paddle-shaped tail, webbed hind feet, and large orange front teeth.

Its body & abilities

Size: Head and body about 74 to 90 cm, plus a tail of 25 to 30 cm.
Weight: Typically 16 to 30 kg (35 to 66 lb), the largest rodent in North America.
Body & adaptations: Its ever-growing teeth cut wood, transparent eyelids act as goggles underwater, and it seals its ears and nose while diving.
Top speed: Slow and clumsy on land at around 8 km/h but a strong swimmer near 8 km/h in water.
Strength: A master builder, it fells trees and constructs dams and lodges that reshape entire waterways.
Senses: Excellent hearing and smell with sensitive whiskers, but only modest eyesight.
Growing up: Kits are born furred and swim within days, staying with the family about two years before dispersing.

Where it lives

Habitat: Rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds bordered by trees, in temperate wetlands and forests.
Where in the world: Across most of North America, from Canada and Alaska south to northern Mexico.
Territory: A family defends a stretch of waterway, typically a few hundred meters around its lodge.

What it eats

Diet: Herbivore that eats bark and water plants, drinking directly from its pond.
Favorite foods: Inner bark, twigs, and buds of trees like aspen and willow, plus aquatic plants and roots.
How it hunts: It forages by felling trees near water and stores branches underwater as a winter food cache.

How it behaves

How it moves: Awkward on land but glides underwater using webbed feet and its tail as a rudder.
When it is active: Mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, active around dawn and dusk and all through the night.
Family life: Lives in close family groups called colonies, usually parents with several generations of young.
How it talks: Warns of danger with a loud tail slap on the water and marks territory with scent mounds.
Babies: Beavers mate for life; after about a 105-day gestation the female bears one to four kits, cared for by both parents.

Its place in nature

Role in nature: A keystone species whose ponds create wetlands for countless other animals; wolves, bears, and coyotes prey on it.
Conservation: Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN after recovering strongly from historic fur trapping.
Dangers: Dies mainly from predators, harsh winters, disease, and conflicts with humans.

Life & legacy

How long it lives: Around 10 to 12 years in the wild and up to about 20 years in captivity.
In our culture: A national emblem of Canada and a symbol of industriousness, shaping the early North American fur trade.
Where to see it: Waterways across Canada and the U.S., including Yellowstone and many national parks, especially at dusk.
Fun fact: The largest known beaver dam, in Alberta, Canada, stretches about 850 m and is visible from space.

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Video: Pixabay · Photos: Wikimedia Commons & Pixabay