Gif Picture: beaver

beaver

Any member of the aquatic rodent family Castoridae (genus Castor), well known for its dam-building. Beavers are heavyset and have short legs and large, webbed hind feet. They grow as large as 4 ft (1.3 m) long (incl. the 1-ft, or 30-cm, tail) and as heavy as 60 lbs (27 kg). Beavers build their dams of sticks, stones, and mud in small rivers, streams, and lakes, often producing sizable ponds. With their powerful jaws and large teeth, they can fell medium-sized trees, whose branches they use in their dams and whose tender bark and buds they eat. One or more family groups share a dome-shaped stick-and-mud lodge built in the water, with tunnel entrances below water level. New World beavers once ranged from N Mexico to the Arctic, but their populations have been reduced by trapping; their prized pelts stimulated the exploration of W N. America. Old World beavers are now found only in the Elbe and Rhô ne drainages of Europe. Both species are now protected.