All About Beavers

By: Catherine Le

Table of Contents• Question and Answer pages• Fast Facts Page• Reference Page• About Me Page

Where does the beaver live?• They were once widespread in N and central Eurasia except E

Siberia, and in North America from the arctic tree line to the S United States. Because of their great importance in maintaining the natural environment, they have been reintroduced in many areas of North America and Russia and are now increasing in numbers. Beavers are responsible for creating many of the woodland ponds that support lush vegetation and eventually become meadows.

What do beavers eat?

• Beavers eat only plants. They eat poplar trees, carrots, cattail, mushrooms, potatoes, berries, water plants, swamp wood, and fruit. Soft bark is the main food for a beaver.

How does the beaver move?• Beavers can swim underwater for 15 minutes. They can

do that because they have very big lungs. Their tails are used as a rudder. If they turn their tail to the right the beaver will go left. Beavers have noses and ears that close when the beaver is in the water.

Who are the beaver’s enemies?• Humans are the main enemies for beavers everywhere.

In the north, wolves are the main predator for the beaver. When a beaver is on land looking for food it can be attacked by animals like: coyotes, lynx, bobcats, mountain lions, wolverines, bears, and sometimes stray dogs. Beavers are hard for an animal to kill because they can dodge into one of their plunge holes. Sometimes a beaver will bite its enemy with its sharp teeth and drag their enemy to the water to drown.

How do beavers communicate?• Sometimes a beaver will communicate with another

beaver by making a scent post. A scent post is a hill made out of mud and grass. They communicate with them by putting musk-smelling oil from their castor glands on the hill. The smell attracts beavers and other animals. Some scent posts found have been 8 to 10 inches high and 10 to 12 inches around. The scent post does more than help them communicate, it finds them a mate.

Size, breeding and lifespan of a beaver…• Beavers live 16 years. They are about 4 feet long

including a 1 foot tail, and they weigh up to 60 lbs. They mate from Jan.- Feb. and they have 1 to 8 babies in April-May. The babies weigh 8 to 24 oz., their length is about 13 inches with tails that are about 9 centimeters long. They learn to swim when they're only a month old. Their eyes open at birth. When the second litter is born the first litter moves out. Beavers mature in about 2 to 3 years. The prehistoric beavers were 7 feet, 6 inches long and lived in North America.

Fast Facts• Type: Mammal• Diet: Herbivore• Average lifespan in the wild: Up to 24 years• Size: Head and body, 23 to 39 in (60 to 100

cm); Tail, 7.75 to 12 in (20 to 30.5 cm)• Weight: 60 lbs (27 kg)• Group name: Colony• Did you know? Beavers are second only to

humans in their ability to manipulate and change their environment.

• Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

References• By Tearsandrain (Creative Commons License: Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8418112@N04/524787437• By sherseydc (Creative Commons License: Attribution, Share-Alike)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31563480@N00/2452702213• By Red~Star (© All Rights reserved)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22626917@N00/1413981329• By DPHPhotos (© All Rights reserved)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30757731@N00/139451201

• By mimbrava (© All Rights reserved) by joekerstef (© All Rights reserved) by the nixonator (© All Rights reserved) by annkelliott (© All Rights reserved)

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/71833159@N00/416135387http://www.flickr.com/photos/58878870@N00/461436110http://www.flickr.com/photos/67906779@N00/266109265http://www.flickr.com/photos/95386698@N00/869698824

About Me• My name is Catherine and I am 7.5

years old. My birthday is June 21st.• My favorite thing to do is

participate in art.