North American Beaver, Humber River near Kleinburg, Ontario (39637607974)🦫

Photo: Vlad Podvorny · CC BY 2.0

SpeciesRodentiaCastoridae
Mammals

🦫Canadian beaver

Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820

The North American beaver is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver. It is native to North America and has been introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe. The North American beaver is one of the national symbols of Canada and the official state mammal of Oregon and New York. North American beavers are widespread across the continental United States, Canada, southern Alaska, and some parts of northern Mexico.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
80
Photos
3
Measurements
13
vs you
≈ a third of your weight
Also called
North American Beaver
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2016.

Population trendStable
Key measurements
Body mass
20 kg
Body length
0.78 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
23 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Canadian beaver

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
20 kg
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 20 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length
0.78 m
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Brain mass
45 g
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Maximum lifespan
23 years
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 23 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length
7.28 years
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Age at maturity
1.8 years
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Gestation
114 days
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 128 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter size
about 4
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 3.5AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic level
Herbivore
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Crepuscular / mixed
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Home range
0.06 km²
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Population density
0.6 per km²
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
20 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Canadian beaver yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classMammalia
  4. ›orderRodentia
  5. ›familyCastoridae
  6. ›genusCastor
  7. ›speciesCastor canadensis
Full lineage
  1. classMammals · Mammalia
  2. orderRodents · Rodentia
  3. familyCastoridae
  4. genusCastor
All 14 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammals · Mammalia
  9. subclassTheria
  10. superorderEuarchontoglires
  11. orderRodents · Rodentia
  12. suborderCastorimorpha
  13. familyCastoridae
  14. genusCastor
More

More about the Canadian beaver

Closest relative on this site
🦫 Eurasian beaver — last shared an ancestor ≈ 4.0 million years ago.
What it eats
leaves, roots and other plants100%
In other languages
美洲河狸 (zh), Bóbr kanadyjski (pl), בונה קנדי (he), castor du Canada (fr), 아메리카비버 (ko), Castor canadensis (es) … and 25 more languages

Animals caught on camera

Real footage of the animals on this site — hunting, fighting, and getting on with it.

See all 80 videos →
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