Beaver - Sierra Club BC
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Beaver

CAN BE FOUND IN:

Beaver

Castor canadensis 

Appearance

Beavers are the second-largest rodent in the world. They have two orange front teeth that continually grow throughout their life. Beavers need to eat trees to shave down their teeth. They have dense, dark brown coats and webbed feet. They have flat tails, which are important for packing mud.  

Range & Habitat

Beavers are typically found in forested areas or in areas with some water and some trees. Occasionally, they can also be found in the tundra. Beavers are a widespread species throughout North America; they can be found throughout all the ecoprovinces in B.C.  

Reciprocal relationships

Beavers are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants. Poplar, aspen, and maple trees are some of their favorite foods.

Beavers change complete landscapes! They chew through trees and open up the canopy for understory plants to grow. They bring many materials from fallen trees, like twigs, leaves and branches, to help create their dams and lodges. Beavers will build dams in rivers, causing the area to flood and create a pond. Not only is this where the beaver will build its safe and secure lodge home, but it also provides great habitat for other species. Beaver lodges have underwater entrances to help protect the beaver and its young! 

The beaver possesses many gifts! They are adept at swimming, building, and tree chomping. However, their greatest gifts might be those of resiliency and community-building. These beings are some of the first to help restore and regenerate wetlands. Through building dams, they foster biodiversity by creating dynamic ecosystems.   

Beavers are especially important beings because their dams and lodges can help to increase groundwater. This can help prevent droughts and fires in our landscapes.  

status

COSEWIC: Not Reported 
CDC: Yellow 

more information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.

photo credit

Canva

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