North American beaver

Beavers are large, heavily built animals with a broad, scaly, spatulate (horizontal flattened) tail. They are the largest of North American rodents, some attaining a weight of 32 kg or 70 Ibs.

There are only two species of beavers. The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is distributed through much of North America except the arctic tundra in the north, deserts regions of the southwest and the Florida Peninsula.

Its close relative, the European beaver lives in central Europe and Mongolia. Both modern beaver species, Eurasian and North American, are physically very similar making them hard to distinguish in the field.

The American beaver is the largest of the North American rodents measuring 30 cm tall up to a meter in length and weighing 15-35 kg. The fur of these semi-aquatic rodents is dark brown-chestnut on the back and sides and lighter on the chest and underside.

The tail is large, flat paddle-shaped, mostly hairless, and scaly and measures about 25 cm in length. When the beaver dives, its nostrils and ears are tightly closed to prevent water from entering. A see-through eyelid also closes to protect the eye so that the beaver can see underwater.
North American beaver