Beavers
In Redwall
- Alignment: Good
- Nicknames: None
- Appearance: Beavers look like those in our world.
- Diet: Probably the same as any other goodbeast.
- Habitat, Personality, Habits: Unknown. There was only one
beaver in the Redwall series, unnamed, who made a quick cameo in Redwall.
Outside Redwall
- Classification: Class: Mammalia [mammals]; Order: Rodentia
[rodents]; Family: Castordae; Genus: Castor; Species: Canadensis [Canadian
beaver, found in almost all of North America]
- Other Names: N/A
- Appearance: Adult beavers may be as much as 4 feet long and weigh
more than 60 pounds. They have webbed hind feet and a distinctive
large, flat tail. They have dark brown fur that lightens on the chest
and stomach.
- Life Span: Most beavers live from three to four years, though they
are capable of living to fifteen years of age.
- Diet: The main staple of a beaver's diet is bark. They eat the bark
of young twigs and the inner bark of trees. They also eat corn and
water plants when they can get them.
- Habitat: Beavers are found along streams, rivers, marshes, and
backwaters. They pile tree limbs and other debris together to make a
large dome-shaped lodge, though sometimes they will dig holes in river- or
stream-banks instead. They will reinforce bank lodges with sticks and
mud. Beavers live in colonies or family units. Family groups
consist of two adults, several two year olds and the young of the current
year.
- Typical Personality: Beavers are gentle, reasoning creatures who
enjoy practical jokes.
- Habits: Beavers often build dams, and may construct them across
narrow, flowing waters, such as shallow streams and the channels of larger
rivers. When a beaver cuts a tree, he usually-starts by gnawing a
notch at an easy-to-reach height, then goes to the opposite side of the tree
and gnaws another a few inches below the first. He continues chewing the
bark and wood away from between the two notches until the tree falls.
They often dig waterways to form running water to float limbs down.
When alarmed, they alert other beavers by slapping their tail against the
water's surface to make a resounding crack!
- Life Cycle: An average of three to four beaver kits are born in
each litter each May. They have full-grown teeth, open eyes, and all
their fur when they are born. They are weaned within three months and
remain with the colony for up to two years before leaving to start their
own. Yearlings often act as babysitters for the new litters.
- Sites for Further Research: