Beaver

A beaver is a large rodent. It is semi-aquatic: some of the time it lives in water, some of the time it lives on land. Beavers are only found in North America and Europe. In Great Britain, for example, they have been deliberately re-introduced. In Europe, they almost died off, but they are returning. There are beavers living in the Elbe and Rhone rivers, as well as in Bavaria, Poland and Scandinavia. Beavers are known for building and keeping dams in rivers.

Their dams slow down rivers and reduce erosion. The wetlands they create benefit many other species. Special arrangements are needed to let salmon and other migratory fish pass the dams to spawn.

Kinds of beavers

There are two different species of beaver, the American beaver (C. canadensis) and the European beaver (C. fiber).

The American beaver

This beaver is in North America, in Canada, the United States and in Northern Mexico. It is the second largest rodent in the world, and the largest found in North America. The largest rodent in the world is the capybara in South America.

The European beaver

The European beaver is currently an endangered species. It was almost hunted to extinction. It was hunted for its fur, and for castoreum. Castoreum is made by a gland, which is also responsible for the smell of the animal. It is used as a tincture in some perfumes

People are currently (2007) reintroducing the beaver, because the important role of the beaver for the ecology of rivers was discovered. Beaver dams (or the small lakes that form) provide a habitat for many species.

Beaver fur

Early visitors that met Native Americans saw them wearing animal skin blankets. The fur on these blankets were good for felting. The Europeans wanted felt hats, and the Native Americans wanted metal: so, fur trading began.

Beaver was the most popular fur for hats. At that time in North America, there were about sixty million beavers. Only the soft inside fur was used for felting. The best time for collecting the beaver’s fur was winter, when the fur was thickest. It was also a good time to hunt, since the beaver stayed close to its home in the winter and was easy to catch. The fur trade gave money to the European traders. The Native Americans who caught the beavers got the metal tools and other high technology items they wanted, until the beavers were mostly gone.

Images

File:Castor canadensis.jpg|An American Beaver File:Castor fiber tree felling 2 brok beentree.jpg|Beavers chopped down this tree File:Beaver dam in Tierra del Fuego.jpg|Beaver dam near Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina