The North American beaver (Castor canadensis), the largest rodent in the country, is an interesting and sometimes elusive animal that plays a significant role in the wetland ecosystem. There are two species of beaver: the North American beaver, and the Eurasian beaver.
The beaver is the second-largest rodent in the world after the capybara. Beavers are primarily nocturnal animals and live in a semi-aquatic life.
But there are more interesting facts about beavers you may not have known about. And I’d like to share some of those facts with you.
The beaver’s ancestors were HUGE
The Giant Beaver is the extinct cousin of modern day beavers. The Giant Beaver lived in North America approximately between 10,000 to 1.4 million years ago, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. They were about 2.5 meters (or 8 ft) long and are estimated to have weighed between 60-100 kg (or 132-220 lbs).
That’s the size of a black bear.
The Giant Beaver looked pretty similar to the modern beaver, however, it was considerably bigger. In particular, its hind feet were very enlarged by comparison.It isn’t fully known if the tail was similar, flat, broad – like a paddle, because it was made of soft tissue that, unfortunately, decays over time. The same goes for the tissue of the feet – but we can assume that their toes were webbed.
We can see more differences in the composition of their teeth. Their cutting teeth of the giant beaver were as big as 15 cm (6 inches) long. They had obvious, ridged outer surfaces and blunt, rounded tips. This is very unlike the modern beaver’s teeth.
Despite the similarities, the giant beaver isn’t considered a close relative to the modern beavers of today. Giant beavers fall into the genus Castoroides, while the beavers we know belongs in the Castor genus.
Beavers are monogamous
The North American beaver is a socially monogamous species that have traditionally monogamous behaviour. They tend to live in discrete colonies composed of a mated pair and their kits. They mate for life.
Beavers have a single litter of between 1 – 6 kits per year, though the availability of food can impact how many kits they have in each litter. Once kits reach the age of two years old, they are forced to leave their family colony to start lodging and dams of their own.
This is a dangerous time for young beavers, as predators and cars pose potential threats, as well as other beavers that will attack them if they enter their territory.
A beaver’s tail serves multiple purposes
Other than being a useful universal tool, there are many functions that the beaver’s tail serves. They use it on both land and water, acting as a rudder while swimming or an alert by slapping it against the water. This alerts other beavers that there are predators nearby.
On land, their tail can act as a prop to keep them upright or as a counterbalance so the beaver won’t tip over when carrying things in their teeth.
The beaver’s tail also acts as an energy storage unit, increasing their fat supply up to 60 per cent to help keep them warm in the winter.
There are a lot of amazing things about beavers, these are just some of the facts that sets this critter apart in the animal kingdom. Hopefully, you’ve gotten to know the North American beaver a bit better.