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American beaver - CASTOR CANADENSIS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Beaver": "Beaver" comes from the Old English word "beofor," which comes from an even older word for "brown."
Location: North America, with the exception of the Arctic tundra, Florida. and the deserts in the southwest.
Habitat: Streams and at the edges of lakes.
Description: The coat ranges from yellowish brown to black. The tail is wide, up to eight inches, flattened, covered with scales, and almost completely hairless. The front feet are relatively small and all the front toes are clawed, while the hind feet are webbed. The beaver closes its ears and nose when it dives. The female has four nipples in her pectoral region. Beavers can reach a length of four feet, with another foot for the tail. They can weigh up to 55 pounds.
Behavior: The beaver is colonial, usually with 4 to 8 individuals in each colony. It feeds on bark and leaves of trees growing beside lakes or streams, or on aquatic plants. It builds elaborate dams out of mud, branches, and tree trunks, which it gnaws through with its powerful incisors. The beaver also builds “houses,” which have two or more entrances below the water level and an internal chamber slightly above the water level. Along larger streams it digs dens in the banks.
Reproduction: The beaver reproduces once a year, with mating occuring in January or February. After a gestation period of over three months, the female gives birth to 3 or 4 young, which remain with their parents for at least a year.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Go to the Mountain Beaver for
the only other Beaver listed in America Zoo.
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