Free mature beaver

Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus Castor native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Beavers are the second-largest living rodents after the capybaras. They have stout bodies with large heads, long chisel-like incisors , brown or gray fur , hand-like front feet, webbed back feet and flat, scaly tails. The Eurasian beaver has a more elongated skull with a more triangular nasal bone opening, lighter fur color and a narrower tail. The animals can be found in a number of freshwater habitats , such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds.

The younger siblings stay with their parents for up to 2 years, helping with infant care, food collection, and dam building. They are only occasionally seen during the day. They usually wake at dusk and are also active at dawn. They are broad and flat with large, blackish scales. Like all rodents, beavers have large central incisors front teeth that are always growing. They must keep them trimmed by gnawing bark.

Found statewide in all habitats with open water. Considered a pest in some areas, because of flooding caused by construction of dams. Lowest Conservation Concern.

The North American beaver Castor canadensis is one of two extant beaver species , along with the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber. In the United States and Canada , the species is often referred to simply as "beaver", though this causes some confusion because another distantly related rodent, Aplodontia rufa , is often called the " mountain beaver ". Other vernacular names, including American beaver [22] and Canadian beaver , [27] distinguish this species from the other extant beaver species, Castor fiber , which is native to Eurasia. The North American beaver is one of the official national wildlife of Canada symbols and is the official state mammal of Oregon and New York. The beaver is the largest rodent in North America and competes with its Eurasian counterpart, the European beaver , for being the second-largest in the world, both following the South American capybara.