Beaver
Facts
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Location: North America and Eurasia
Lifespan: Up to 24 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Location: North America and Eurasia
Lifespan: Up to 24 years
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Castoridae
Genus: Castor
Species: C. canadensis - North American Beaver. C. fiber - Eurasian Beaver
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Castoridae
Genus: Castor
Species: C. canadensis - North American Beaver. C. fiber - Eurasian Beaver
Description
Head to body length: 23 to 29 in (60 to 100 cm)
Tail length: 7.75 to 12 in (20 to 30 cm)
Weight: 60 lb (27 kg)
Other: The two front paws are similar to human hands and have five toes, while the hind feet have five toes but are webbed to help in swimming. The beaver has a wide, flat, scaly, tail, which it uses as a rudder when swimming, and long, sharp, orange-coloured incisor teeth with which it is capable of gnawing down trees.
Head to body length: 23 to 29 in (60 to 100 cm)
Tail length: 7.75 to 12 in (20 to 30 cm)
Weight: 60 lb (27 kg)
Other: The two front paws are similar to human hands and have five toes, while the hind feet have five toes but are webbed to help in swimming. The beaver has a wide, flat, scaly, tail, which it uses as a rudder when swimming, and long, sharp, orange-coloured incisor teeth with which it is capable of gnawing down trees.
Behaviour
When the beaver swims under water it can close its mouth, nose, and ears to keep the water out and remain submerged for several minutes. Its lips can be closed behind its incisor teeth to enable it to gnaw under water and build up its home. On land the beaver is capable of walking on its hind legs and carrying logs, mud or stones in its front paws. The beaver also has an excellent sense of hearing and smell. It is a verycapable creature. As a wild creature, the beaver works mostly at night. It cuts down logs in spring and early summer, letting the logs lie until the autumn when it builds or repairs its home. The beaver lives in a lodge - a mound of sticks, moss and stones with a domed roof plastered with mud. A lodge looks like a giant hedgehog with wooden prickles. The beaver lodge can be found on the bank of a stream, at the end of a dam or on a pile of logs, which are placed at the bottom of the river.
A beaver does not live alone in a lodge. At times a lodge might contain twelve beavers or more, all working and living together. Beavers are cheerful creatures and enjoy each other's company. To greet another beaver, a beaver will slap its tail on the water as a sign of welcome, although under different circumstances this signal indicates danger. The beaver is a naturally clean creature. It cleans its lodge and itself regularly. The beaver combs and cleans its fur using its claws and teeth and helps other beavers clean themselves too.
When the beaver swims under water it can close its mouth, nose, and ears to keep the water out and remain submerged for several minutes. Its lips can be closed behind its incisor teeth to enable it to gnaw under water and build up its home. On land the beaver is capable of walking on its hind legs and carrying logs, mud or stones in its front paws. The beaver also has an excellent sense of hearing and smell. It is a verycapable creature. As a wild creature, the beaver works mostly at night. It cuts down logs in spring and early summer, letting the logs lie until the autumn when it builds or repairs its home. The beaver lives in a lodge - a mound of sticks, moss and stones with a domed roof plastered with mud. A lodge looks like a giant hedgehog with wooden prickles. The beaver lodge can be found on the bank of a stream, at the end of a dam or on a pile of logs, which are placed at the bottom of the river.
A beaver does not live alone in a lodge. At times a lodge might contain twelve beavers or more, all working and living together. Beavers are cheerful creatures and enjoy each other's company. To greet another beaver, a beaver will slap its tail on the water as a sign of welcome, although under different circumstances this signal indicates danger. The beaver is a naturally clean creature. It cleans its lodge and itself regularly. The beaver combs and cleans its fur using its claws and teeth and helps other beavers clean themselves too.
Predators or Prey?
The animals that hunt beavers include the fox, the wolf, the bear, the lynx, and the wolverine. These animals are not water creatures and so the beaver is safe in his lodge providing the pond does not freeze up and give these animals access to the lodge. However, another enemy of the beaver is the otter, which is capable of swimming into the lodge and attacking the beavers. Fortunately, the lodge has two entrances and the beavers can swim out of the opposite entrance and escape. A further enemy of the beaver used to be man. Man hunted the beaver for its fur and teeth and the beaver almost became extinct. The fur was used to make hats and coats and the teeth to make sharp chisels or knives. The castor was also collected and made into perfumes. Today the beaver is a protected species and its numbers are increasing. Beavers have to be very careful to avoid enemies. While the beaver is working outside the lodge it is
prey to many animals. Its distinctive smell, from a pouch in its upper tail, which contains castor - a musky smelling substance - leaves scent marks as it works. If in danger while above the ground, the beaver can dig plunge-holes in the ground to hide in. Fortunately the kits do not have the distinctive castor for enemies to smell. The teeth of the beaver also provide formidable weapons if necessary. When a beaver senses danger, it slaps its tail on the water or ground to warn the others to return to the safety of their lodge. Their home is the beaver's best fortress, especially if it is frozen up with ice. The Beaver does not have any prey because the species is a herbivore. This means that the Beaver only eats plants, not other animals.
The animals that hunt beavers include the fox, the wolf, the bear, the lynx, and the wolverine. These animals are not water creatures and so the beaver is safe in his lodge providing the pond does not freeze up and give these animals access to the lodge. However, another enemy of the beaver is the otter, which is capable of swimming into the lodge and attacking the beavers. Fortunately, the lodge has two entrances and the beavers can swim out of the opposite entrance and escape. A further enemy of the beaver used to be man. Man hunted the beaver for its fur and teeth and the beaver almost became extinct. The fur was used to make hats and coats and the teeth to make sharp chisels or knives. The castor was also collected and made into perfumes. Today the beaver is a protected species and its numbers are increasing. Beavers have to be very careful to avoid enemies. While the beaver is working outside the lodge it is
prey to many animals. Its distinctive smell, from a pouch in its upper tail, which contains castor - a musky smelling substance - leaves scent marks as it works. If in danger while above the ground, the beaver can dig plunge-holes in the ground to hide in. Fortunately the kits do not have the distinctive castor for enemies to smell. The teeth of the beaver also provide formidable weapons if necessary. When a beaver senses danger, it slaps its tail on the water or ground to warn the others to return to the safety of their lodge. Their home is the beaver's best fortress, especially if it is frozen up with ice. The Beaver does not have any prey because the species is a herbivore. This means that the Beaver only eats plants, not other animals.
Diet
Most of the Beaver's diet is made up of tree bark and cambium, the soft tissue that grows under the bark of a tree. They especially like the bark of a willow, maple, birch, aspen, cottenwood, beech, poplar, and the alder trees. Beavers also eat vegetation like roots, buds, and other plants. The Beaver has a specialized digestive system that helps it digest tree bark.
Most of the Beaver's diet is made up of tree bark and cambium, the soft tissue that grows under the bark of a tree. They especially like the bark of a willow, maple, birch, aspen, cottenwood, beech, poplar, and the alder trees. Beavers also eat vegetation like roots, buds, and other plants. The Beaver has a specialized digestive system that helps it digest tree bark.
Habitat
Today the beaver can be found in parts of North America, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Beavers were found in the British Isles up until about the twelfth century, building their dams across rivers. Now beavers are not found living wild in this country but can be found in captivity,living in our zoos.
The habitat of the beaver is the riparian zone, inclusive of stream bed. The actions of beavers for hundreds of thousands of years in the Northern Hemisphere have kept these watery systems healthy and in good repair, although a human observing all the downed trees might think that the beavers were doing just the opposite.
The beaver works as a keystone species in an ecosystem by creating wetlands that are used by many other species. Next to humans, no other extant animal appears to do more to shape its landscape.
Beavers fell trees for several reasons. They fell large mature trees, usually in strategic locations, to form the basis of a dam, but European beavers tend to use small diameter (<10 cm) trees for this purpose. Beavers fell small trees, especially young second-growth trees, for food. Broadleaved trees re-grow as a coppice, providing easy-to-reach stems and leaves for food in subsequent years. Ponds created by beavers can also kill some tree species by drowning but this creates standing dead wood, which is very important for a wide range of animals and plants.
Today the beaver can be found in parts of North America, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Beavers were found in the British Isles up until about the twelfth century, building their dams across rivers. Now beavers are not found living wild in this country but can be found in captivity,living in our zoos.
The habitat of the beaver is the riparian zone, inclusive of stream bed. The actions of beavers for hundreds of thousands of years in the Northern Hemisphere have kept these watery systems healthy and in good repair, although a human observing all the downed trees might think that the beavers were doing just the opposite.
The beaver works as a keystone species in an ecosystem by creating wetlands that are used by many other species. Next to humans, no other extant animal appears to do more to shape its landscape.
Beavers fell trees for several reasons. They fell large mature trees, usually in strategic locations, to form the basis of a dam, but European beavers tend to use small diameter (<10 cm) trees for this purpose. Beavers fell small trees, especially young second-growth trees, for food. Broadleaved trees re-grow as a coppice, providing easy-to-reach stems and leaves for food in subsequent years. Ponds created by beavers can also kill some tree species by drowning but this creates standing dead wood, which is very important for a wide range of animals and plants.
Conservation
Six Eurasian Beavers released into an enclosure reserve as part of a conservation project in Gloucestershire two years ago have begun to breed. The Beavers were brought to the Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswold Water Park from Bavaria in 2005. "They do such a great job for the environment, they manage the eco system by dead-wooding and creating new growth," said land owner Jeremy Paxton. Beavers had been absent from England for about 500 years. The animals were hunted almost to extinction for their thick fur. The estate owners are not allowed to release the Beavers to the wild because they are not native species.
Six Eurasian Beavers released into an enclosure reserve as part of a conservation project in Gloucestershire two years ago have begun to breed. The Beavers were brought to the Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswold Water Park from Bavaria in 2005. "They do such a great job for the environment, they manage the eco system by dead-wooding and creating new growth," said land owner Jeremy Paxton. Beavers had been absent from England for about 500 years. The animals were hunted almost to extinction for their thick fur. The estate owners are not allowed to release the Beavers to the wild because they are not native species.
Reproduction
A beaver will find a mate at about two years of age and these two will stay together for life, which can be about twenty years. A beaver will have one litter of babies per year, usually during the summer months, one to eight babies per litter. Baby beavers are called kits. The kits born in the lodge have fur coats and open eyes when born. At four days the kits can swim, and within two months the kits are weaned from the mother's milk and have strong enough teeth to eat bark, roots, leaves, and berries like their parents. A beaver will remain with its parents for two years and then leaves its home to find a mate and build its ownlodge and dam.
A beaver will find a mate at about two years of age and these two will stay together for life, which can be about twenty years. A beaver will have one litter of babies per year, usually during the summer months, one to eight babies per litter. Baby beavers are called kits. The kits born in the lodge have fur coats and open eyes when born. At four days the kits can swim, and within two months the kits are weaned from the mother's milk and have strong enough teeth to eat bark, roots, leaves, and berries like their parents. A beaver will remain with its parents for two years and then leaves its home to find a mate and build its ownlodge and dam.
