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{{Taxobox
| name = Beavers
| fossil_range = Late [[Miocene]] - Recent
| image = Beaver.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = American Beaver
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Rodent]]ia
| subordo = [[Castorimorpha]]
| familia = [[Castoridae]]
| genus = '''''Castor'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
American Beaver,'' C. canadensis''<br />
European Beaver, ''C. fiber''
}}
A '''beaver''' is a kind of [[rodent]]. It is ''semi-aquatic'', meaning some of the time it lives in [[water]], some of the time it lives on land. Beavers can only be found in [[North America]] and [[Europe]]. In Europe, they almost became extinct (died off), but they are returning. There are beavers living in the [[Elbe]] and [[Rhone]] [[river]]s, as well as in [[Bavaria]], [[Poland]] and [[Scandinavia]].
Beavers are known for building and keeping [[dam]]s in [[river]]s.
==Kinds of beavers==
Currently there are two different [[species]] of beaver, the American beaver (''C. canadensis'') and the European beaver (''C. fiber'').
===The American beaver===
This beaver can be found in [[North America]], in [[Canada]], the [[United States]] and in Northern [[Mexico]]. It is the second largest rodent in the world, and the largest found in North America. The largest rodent of the world is the [[capybara]] from [[South America]].
===The European beaver===
The European beaver is currently an endangered species. It was hunted almost to extinction. This was done because of its [[fur]], and because of [[castoreum]]. Castoreum is made by a certain [[gland]], which is also responsible for the smell of the animal..<ref>{{IUCN2006|assessors=Gippoliti|year=2002|id=4007|title=Castor fiber|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened</ref> People are currently (2007) reintroducing the beaver, because the important role of the beaver for the ecology of rivers was discovered.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.at/Projekte/artenschutz/project141 |title=Europäischer Biber |publisher=[[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF Österreich]] |accessdate=August 24, 2006}}</ref> Beaver dams (or the small lakes that form) provide a habitat for many species.
==Beaver fur==
Early visitors that met Native Americans saw them wearing animal skin blankets. The fur on these blankets were good for [[felt]]ing. The Europeans wanted felt [[hat]]s, and the Native Americans wanted metal: so, fur trading began.
Beaver was the most popular fur for hats. At that time in North America, there were about sixty million beavers. Only the soft inside fur was used for [[felt]]ing. The best time for collecting the beaver's fur was winter, when the fur was thickest. It was also a good time to hunt, since the beaver stayed close to its home in the winter and was easy to catch. The fur trade gave more money to the European traders more than the Indians. The traders made lots of money on the furs they collected; the Indians got the metal tools and pots and beads they wanted, but it cost them their way of life and their land.
==Images==
<gallery>
Image:Castor canadensis.jpg|An American Beaver
Image:Beaver pho34.jpg|A (European) beaver in [[Norway]]
Image:Castor fiber tree felling 2 brok beentree.jpg|Beavers chopped down this tree
Image:Beaver dam in Tierra del Fuego.jpg|Beaver dam near [[Ushuaia]], [[Tierra del Fuego]], [[Argentina]]
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=MacDonald & Cook|year=2000|id=4003|title=Castor canadensis|downloaded=12 May 2006}}
*{{ITIS|ID=180212|taxon=Castor canadensis|year=2006|date=18 March}}
== Other websites ==
{{commons|Castor}}
{{wikispecies|Castor}}
* [http://www.ecology.info/beaver-ecology.htm Ecology of the Beaver]
* [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o1_e.cfm Canadian Heritage - the beaver as a national symbol]
* [http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/QL737xR6xD84 The romance of the beaver;] being the history of the beaver in the western hemisphere, by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Illustrated with photographs from life and drawings by the author. Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott company; London, W. Heinemann [[1914]] ''(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries)''
[[Category:Rodents]]
[[Category:Mammals of North America]]
{{Link FA|ca}}
{{Link FA|es}}
| name = Beavers
| fossil_range = Late [[Miocene]] - Recent
| image = Beaver.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = American Beaver
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Rodent]]ia
| subordo = [[Castorimorpha]]
| familia = [[Castoridae]]
| genus = '''''Castor'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
American Beaver,'' C. canadensis''<br />
European Beaver, ''C. fiber''
}}
A '''beaver''' is a kind of [[rodent]]. It is ''semi-aquatic'', meaning some of the time it lives in [[water]], some of the time it lives on land. Beavers can only be found in [[North America]] and [[Europe]]. In Europe, they almost became extinct (died off), but they are returning. There are beavers living in the [[Elbe]] and [[Rhone]] [[river]]s, as well as in [[Bavaria]], [[Poland]] and [[Scandinavia]].
Beavers are known for building and keeping [[dam]]s in [[river]]s.
==Kinds of beavers==
Currently there are two different [[species]] of beaver, the American beaver (''C. canadensis'') and the European beaver (''C. fiber'').
===The American beaver===
This beaver can be found in [[North America]], in [[Canada]], the [[United States]] and in Northern [[Mexico]]. It is the second largest rodent in the world, and the largest found in North America. The largest rodent of the world is the [[capybara]] from [[South America]].
===The European beaver===
The European beaver is currently an endangered species. It was hunted almost to extinction. This was done because of its [[fur]], and because of [[castoreum]]. Castoreum is made by a certain [[gland]], which is also responsible for the smell of the animal..<ref>{{IUCN2006|assessors=Gippoliti|year=2002|id=4007|title=Castor fiber|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened</ref> People are currently (2007) reintroducing the beaver, because the important role of the beaver for the ecology of rivers was discovered.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.at/Projekte/artenschutz/project141 |title=Europäischer Biber |publisher=[[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF Österreich]] |accessdate=August 24, 2006}}</ref> Beaver dams (or the small lakes that form) provide a habitat for many species.
==Beaver fur==
Early visitors that met Native Americans saw them wearing animal skin blankets. The fur on these blankets were good for [[felt]]ing. The Europeans wanted felt [[hat]]s, and the Native Americans wanted metal: so, fur trading began.
Beaver was the most popular fur for hats. At that time in North America, there were about sixty million beavers. Only the soft inside fur was used for [[felt]]ing. The best time for collecting the beaver's fur was winter, when the fur was thickest. It was also a good time to hunt, since the beaver stayed close to its home in the winter and was easy to catch. The fur trade gave more money to the European traders more than the Indians. The traders made lots of money on the furs they collected; the Indians got the metal tools and pots and beads they wanted, but it cost them their way of life and their land.
==Images==
<gallery>
Image:Castor canadensis.jpg|An American Beaver
Image:Beaver pho34.jpg|A (European) beaver in [[Norway]]
Image:Castor fiber tree felling 2 brok beentree.jpg|Beavers chopped down this tree
Image:Beaver dam in Tierra del Fuego.jpg|Beaver dam near [[Ushuaia]], [[Tierra del Fuego]], [[Argentina]]
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=MacDonald & Cook|year=2000|id=4003|title=Castor canadensis|downloaded=12 May 2006}}
*{{ITIS|ID=180212|taxon=Castor canadensis|year=2006|date=18 March}}
== Other websites ==
{{commons|Castor}}
{{wikispecies|Castor}}
* [http://www.ecology.info/beaver-ecology.htm Ecology of the Beaver]
* [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o1_e.cfm Canadian Heritage - the beaver as a national symbol]
* [http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/QL737xR6xD84 The romance of the beaver;] being the history of the beaver in the western hemisphere, by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Illustrated with photographs from life and drawings by the author. Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott company; London, W. Heinemann [[1914]] ''(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries)''
[[Category:Rodents]]
[[Category:Mammals of North America]]
{{Link FA|ca}}
{{Link FA|es}}