Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. They are the only living members of the family Castoridae, which contains a single genus, Castor. Genetic investigate has shown the European and North American beaver populations to be distinct species and that hybridization is improbable.
Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in rivers and streams, and building their homes (aka lodges) in the ultimate artificial pond. They are the second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara).
Beavers continue to produce throughout life. Adult specimens weighing over 25 kg (55 lb) are not uncommon. Females are as large as or larger than males of the same age, which is uncommon among mammals.
The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to death in Europe, both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. However, the beaver is now being re-introduced throughout Europe. Several thousand live on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. In northeast Poland there is a thriving community of Castor fiber. They have been reintroduced in Bavaria and The Netherlands and are tending to extend to new locations. The beaver finally became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century: Giraldus Cambrensis reported in 1188 (Itinerarium ii.iii) that it was to be found only in the Teifi in Wales and in one river in Scotland, though his observations are clearly first hand.
In October 2005, six European beavers were re-introduced to Britain in Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire, and there are strategy for re-introductions in Scotland and Wales.
The extinct North American Giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) was one of main rodents that ever evolved. It disappeared, with other big mammals in the Holocene extinction event, which began about 13,000 years ago.
Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in rivers and streams, and building their homes (aka lodges) in the ultimate artificial pond. They are the second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara).
Beavers continue to produce throughout life. Adult specimens weighing over 25 kg (55 lb) are not uncommon. Females are as large as or larger than males of the same age, which is uncommon among mammals.
The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to death in Europe, both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. However, the beaver is now being re-introduced throughout Europe. Several thousand live on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. In northeast Poland there is a thriving community of Castor fiber. They have been reintroduced in Bavaria and The Netherlands and are tending to extend to new locations. The beaver finally became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth century: Giraldus Cambrensis reported in 1188 (Itinerarium ii.iii) that it was to be found only in the Teifi in Wales and in one river in Scotland, though his observations are clearly first hand.
In October 2005, six European beavers were re-introduced to Britain in Lower Mill Estate in Gloucestershire, and there are strategy for re-introductions in Scotland and Wales.
The extinct North American Giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) was one of main rodents that ever evolved. It disappeared, with other big mammals in the Holocene extinction event, which began about 13,000 years ago.
