30 Amazing Facts about Beaver | Amazing Facts 4U
- Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents usually found in streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes.
- Beaver is the Canadian national animal and is depicted on the Canadian five-cent piece.
- Beavers were plenty in England until they were hunted to extinction in the 12th century.
- An adult beaver is approximately 3 feet long.
- Beaver has a thick brown fur coat and a soft grey undercoat that protects it from all climates.
- An adult beaver can weigh between 30 and 70 pounds. Female beavers are larger.
- The beaver can live 15 – 21 years in the wild and much longer in captivity.
- Beavers are nocturnal creatures working at night.
- Beavers are in fact the second largest rodents on earth. Their large front teeth never stop growing. The beaver’s constant gnawing on wood keeps their teeth from growing too long.
- Beavers are second only to humans in their ability to manipulate their environment mainly because of their amazing “dam construction projects”
- A stick-and-mud dam built across a stream at the edge of a lake can tell you a beaver is nearby.
- The beaver is an industrious creature and its dam-building creates wetlands that support other wildlife. A beaver will fell a particular tree with its sharp teeth for a particular reason; a larger mature tree will be felled to form the basis of a dam. A young, second-growth tree will be felled for food.
- As well as a wetland, beavers create standing deadwood (by drowning some trees) which is inhabited by insects, and in turn, attracts birdlife.
- There are two species of beaver; the North American beaver and the European beaver. Although very similar in appearance and behavior, the two species are totally incompatible. They have a different number of chromosomes and they do not crossbreed with one another.
- Beavers usually have one mate for life! The gestation period of beavers is 105 days.
- Baby beavers are called Kits. Once a beaver is two-years-old, it leaves the family. It reaches sexual maturity by 3 years.
- Beavers are territorial. They mark and protect their space.
- Beavers have poor sight but a strong sense of smell and good hearing.
- Beavers are herbivores. They feed on trees and tree bark; common favorites are cherry, maple, birch, and aspens. Beavers also feed on water lilies, pondweed, and leaves.
- A common belief about beavers is that they eat wood, when in fact it’s only the bark they eat.
- Beavers move slowly on land but are good swimmers and can swim up to 5 mph. Beavers can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes.
- Beavers homes, called lodges, are domelike constructions built from branches and mud. They are positioned in open water for protection from predators and have underwater entrance holes leading to the main living chamber.
- Their lodges typically contain two dens, one for drying off after entering the lodge underwater, and a second, dryer den where the family will live and socialize. Beavers do not hibernate and lodges need to be built in deep enough water so the entrance does not freeze in the winter.
- Their ears and noses have valves that they can close before submerging themselves underwater.
- Their front teeth stick out of their closed mouths so that they may work underwater without swallowing water. When they fell a tree they waste nothing, systematically eating the bark and buds before cutting up branches and sections of the trunk to carry for use in dams or lodges.
- They use these dams as protection from predators and as shelter throughout the winter. If a predator destroys part of the dam, it will be fixed overnight.
- They are amazing lone engineers and generally work independently with little contact with each other.
- What is believed to be the world’s largest beaver dam has been built in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta, Canada. It is an 850-meter long beaver dam. It is located about 190 kilometers northeast of Fort McMurray, AB. Beavers are the only creatures on earth, other than humans, that build structures visible from space.
- Beavers possess a set of transparent eyelids which enable them to see underwater.
- A beaver’s broad stiff tail about a foot long is a little like a Swiss Army knife: it is used as a rudder to steer underwater, a third leg while standing upright, as a lever to drag branches and can be slapped on the water to warn other beavers of danger.
If you want more insightful thoughts, go and subscribe to our blog: www.delightfulquotes.com
