Beaver
Castor canadensis
Trail Tidbits
The beaver is the largest member of the family "Rodentia."
They are well known for chewing down trees near streams leaving a pointed stump that resembles a whittled pencil.
They eat the bark and leaves and use the trunks, branches, grass and mud to create a wall or dam that blocks the flow of the stream.
The dam creates a flooded pond in which the beaver use as their zone of safety.
They build a dome-shaped home called a lodge with an underwater entrance for escaping predators. If beaver sense danger, they slap their paddle-shaped tail on top of the water to make a loud warning signal to other beaver in the family.The living area is above the water level.
Beavers use their wide, flat tails as a rudder while webbed back feet help it swim. Can you see the tail in the picture below?
Some confuse the beaver with the river otter when seen swimming. Compare below- the otter, more slender, darker brown, and with a different shaped face, is on the right:
