Beaver

Drawing by Robert Savannah of the  US Fish and Wildlife Service

In Chapter 5 Tao, the Siamese cat, is crossing the river. Tao was very reluctant to climb into the water. This is with good cause, for when he was halfway across the river, the beaver dam breaks and Tao is hit by a log from the beaver dam and swept down the river. Will Tao survive the wild ride down the river? Will he be able to catch up with his friends? You'll have to read The Incredible Journey to find out? Before you do, read about beavers.

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Description

The beaver is the largest member of the rodent family. It is 2 feet long not including its tail. The beaver has a ten inch tail that is covered with scaly skin. It is ¾ inches thick. It uses the tail as a rudder in the water. Beavers weigh 35 to 40 pounds. They can grow to be as large as sixty-five pounds. Their fur is dark brown. It has a round body, strong head, and powerful jaws. The beaver has two cutting teeth that continue to grow throughout its life. These teeth are used to cut trees. The beaver has a total of 20 teeth. The beaver has small ears, eyes, and front legs. The beaver has webbed skin between its toes for swimming. The toes end it claws which the beaver uses for combing its fur.

Habitat   

Beavers live in North America from Alaska and Canada to the Rio Grande River. They also live in Northern Europe. They must live near running water with many trees along its banks. They live in colonies. All the beavers in the colony work together to build their home. Their home is called a lodge. The lodge has several entrances. It is about 3 to 6 feet high and about 7 feet across. The lodge has two rooms. One is a living room that is above the water. The beaver sleeps in this room. The other room is a storage room. It is under water. In the storage room, food is kept. The beaver often builds a dam if the water level is too low for its lodge. They do this by piling up mud, rocks, and tree branches.

Food

Beavers eat twigs and bark from willow, birch, poplar, and alder trees.

Young

Beavers have only one mate. Females have between 2 to 6 babies which are called kittens. These kittens are usually born in April or May. They are about 15 inches long and weigh ½ to 1½  pounds. The kittens stay with their parents until they are 3 years old. At this age they leave home to begin their own families.

Enemies

The beaver moves awkwardly on land. To escape bears and wolves it must move quickly to the water where it is an excellent swimmer. It can stay underwater for as long as 15 minutes without coming up for air.

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