International Beaver Day

1. Beavers are a type of mammal called a rodent. They are the second largest rodent in the world, with only capybaras being bigger. There are two species of beaver. The American beaver is found in North America and the Eurasian beaver is found in parts of Europe and Asia. 

2. A beavers body grows to about 70 to 100cms long, and then their thick tail is about 30cm long. They are covered in thick, brown waterproof fur. They have short legs and walk very low to the ground. Their big back feet are webbed to help them swim.

3. Beavers teeth are orange because of the iron in them. This makes them strong enough to gnaw through wood to eat and build with. Beavers mainly eat trees, including buds, leaves, twigs, and the layer under the bark.

4. Beavers are semi aquatic, which means they like to spend a lot of time in water. While they can’t breathe underwater as they are mammals, they can hold their breathe for about 15 minutes! Beavers have transparent eyelids so they can see through them, acting like goggles, and their nose and ears shut to keep water out. 

5. Beavers like to live near streams, rivers and lakes in a woodland habitat. 

6. Beavers create themselves homes called lodges. They build these with branches, sticks, stones and mud. The lodge has an underwater entrance leading to a dry dome shaped living space above the water where they can rest and look after their babies. 

7. Beavers also create dams. They use branches, sticks, stones, and mud to build them as well. Dams stretch across streams, blocking the water flowing creating a calm pond of still water for them to live in and to protect their lodges.

8. Beavers are most active at dawn and dusk. This is when you are most likely to see them out of the water. Otherwise they will be safe in their lodge or in the pond they have created with their dam, mostly out of sight.

9. Beavers live in small family groups called a colony, with a male and a female beaver and their young, called kits. They live together in their lodge, with kits only leaving after 2 or 3 years.

10. Beavers are quiet good at staying safely out of the way of predators such as wolves, bears and foxes, being most vulnerable when out of the water or out of their lodge. Beavers communicate to other beavers that there is danger by slapping the water with their tails.