Beaver | 台北市立動物園資訊網

Beaversarelarge,semiaquaticrodentsinthegenusCastornativetothetemperateNorthernHemisphere.Therearetwoextantspecies:theNorthAmerican ...

Genus of semiaquatic rodents that build dams and lodges

Beavers (genus Castor) are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the Eurasian beaver (C. fiber). Beavers are the second-largest living rodents, after capybaras. Beavers have stout bodies with large heads, long chisel-like incisors, brown or gray fur, hand-like front feet, webbed back feet, and tails that are flat and scaly. The two species differ in skull shape and tail and fur color. Beavers can be found in a number of freshwater habitats, such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. They are herbivorous, consuming tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges.

Beavers build dams and lodges using tree branches, vegetation, rocks and mud; they chew down trees for building material. Dams restrict water flow, and lodges serve as shelters...