Beavers

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 Beavers Facts

Common Name: Beaver Beavers are one of the largest

rodents in existence. They have thick
Scientific Name:
fur, webbed feet and scale-covered
Castor canadensis (American tails. Due to their busy life, beavers
beaver) are often used in idioms about being
Castor fiber (Eurasian beaver) industrious and hardworking.
Type: Mammals
Habitat, Anatomy and Life Cycle
Diet: Herbivores
Group Name: Colony ★ Beavers need water to survive.
They live in lakes, ponds, marshes
Average Lifespan in the
and rivers. Europe and Asia were
Wild:
once inhabited by Eurasian
Up to 24 years beavers. Now, scarce populations
Average Weight: 60 lbs are seen in southern Scandinavia,
France, Germany, Poland and
Russia.
 Beavers Facts
★ While, Eurasian beavers Large, sharp,
diminished due to
overhunting, by contrast,
American beavers are found Large,
throughout North America.
★ Beavers live in lodges with
two dens, which look like little
domes made of sticks, grass,
branches and mud. Lodges
are built barely above water
level on the banks of ponds or
lakes. They usually have an
underwater entrance.
★ Beavers are herbivores, scaly tail
which means they eat leaves,
roots, bark, willow and
aquatic plants.
★ After the capybara, beavers
are the second largest rodent.
Their rounded body is
covered with brown fur.
Beavers have a flat, scaly,
rudder-like tail. Their tail and ★ Beavers mate during winter.
webbed feet propel them
through the water at 5 to 8
mph. According to National
Geographic, they can stay
underwater for 15 minutes.
★ They walk slowly on land but
are very good swimmers.
front teeth
rounded
body
Large, flat,
Webbed feet Clawed front
with 5 toes feet with 4
fingers
★ Despite having poor eyesight,
beavers have a good sense of
hearing, smell and touch. They
have a set of transparent
eyelids, which enable them to
see underwater.
Eurasian female beavers have
a gestation period of around
60 to 128 days, while their
American counterparts will
give birth after 105 to 107
days. Eurasian kits or babies
are weaned after six weeks
compared to the two weeks of
American kits.
 Beavers Facts
★ As mammals, kits need to
feed on their mother’s milk.
★ At the age of two, kits usually
leave their parent’s lodge and
build their own. By 3 years
old, they are ready to find
their own mate.
★ Adult beavers can grow up to
3 feet long and weigh over
25 kg. Females are usually as
large or even a bit larger than
males.
Behavioral Characteristics
★ Beavers are very social
animals. They live in groups
called colonies. Each lodge is
inhabited by a monogamous
couple and their kits.
★ They are nocturnal mammals,
preferring to move around at
night. They are often busy
building and maintaining their
lodges and dams or looking
for food.
★ During winter, beavers do not
hibernate but they tend to
become less active.
★ Beavers have continuously
growing teeth, which they use
to cut down trees and
branches.
★ Despite living in colonies,
beavers are territorial
animals. They mark their
territories with castoreum, an
odorous substance they
secrete.
★ They communicate through
vocalizations, scent marking,
body language and slapping
of tails against the water.
★ They are known to produce
danger signals, which can be
heard at long distances.
★ Beavers are known builders.
They create dams out of tree
branches, logs and mud,
which helps to maintain ideal
water levels. In addition,
dams also protect them from
predators and irrigate their
food.
★ Aside from building 6.5
foot-long dams, beavers also
dig canals connecting large
bodies of water to their
feeding area.
 Beavers Facts
Conservation Status

★ In 1988, the estimated

population of American
beavers was around 60 to
400 million but recent studies
show that only 6 to 12 million
remain in the wild.
★ The decline was caused by
excessive hunting due to the ★ The habitats created by
beaver’s fur and glands used beavers are typically
as medicine and perfume. beneficial to other wildlife
Some hunted beavers nearby but sometimes
because they interfered with damaging to humans. This
human land use. beaver behavior may cause
★ In the United States, beaver the following:
hunting and trapping is ○ Dams made of
regulated at the national level. extensive piles of
According to the IUCN Red branches and mud may
List, beavers are of least block off water flow.
concern yet some areas are ○ Flooding of homes and
designated as protected. irrigation systems.
○ Destruction of valuable
Beaver Damage
trees.
○ Total blockage of
★ Beavers are not directly waterways.
harmful to humans but can
transmit illnesses like
tularemia and giardiasis
known as beaver fever.
Name:

Beaver Body
There are two species of beaver that can be found on
three continents. Can you name them? In addition,
properly label the body parts of this rodent.
Beaver

1.
6.

2.

3.
5.

4.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6
 Beaver Body
Answer Key

Beaver

European Beaver A

North American Beaver B

1.
6.

2.

3.
5.

4.

1. Small ears
2. Small mouth
3. 4-fingered, clawed hands
4. Webbed, five-toed, clawed
feet
5. Black, flat, thick, heavy tail
6. Body covered with thick,
dark-brown fur
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