The life of beavers in the book: "Green Pages". Beaver animal: description, photos, pictures, videos about the life of beavers, why they need a dam

Beavers are a genus of mammals of the rodent order, which includes two species: the common beaver (Castor fiber), a resident Atlantic coast to the Baikal region and Mongolia, and the Canadian beaver (Castor canadensis), found in North America.

The beaver's body weight is about 30 kg, body length reaches 1-1.5 m, females are usually slightly larger in size than males. The rodent has a blunt muzzle, small ears, short, strong legs with powerful claws. The beaver's fur consists of two layers: on top there are hard red-brown guard hairs, and underneath there is a thick gray undercoat that protects the beaver from hypothermia. The tail is bare, black, flattened and wide, covered with scales. Near the base of the tail are two glands that produce an odorous substance known as “beaver squirt.”

Beavers are herbivorous rodents. Their diet includes bark and shoots of trees (aspen, willow, poplar, birch), various herbaceous plants (water lily, egg capsule, iris, cattail, reed). They can also feed on hazel, linden, elm, and bird cherry. They readily eat acorns. Large teeth and a strong bite help beavers to eat fairly solid plant foods, and the microflora of their intestinal tract digests cellulose foods well.

The daily required amount of food reaches 20% of a beaver's weight.

IN summer period Beavers' diet is dominated by herbaceous food; in the fall, rodents actively prepare woody food for the winter. Each family stores 60-70 m3 of wood. Beavers leave their reserves in the water, where they retain their food quality until the end of winter.

Until the twentieth century, beavers were very widespread, but due to their mass extermination, their habitat in Lately decreased significantly. Common beaver found in Europe, Russia, China and Mongolia. Its closest relative, the Canadian beaver, lives in North America.

Common Beaver Species

The body length is 1-1.3 m, height is about 35.5 cm, weight is in the range of 30-32 kg. The body is squat, the paws are shortened with five fingers, the hind legs are stronger than the front ones. Swimming membranes are located between the fingers. The claws are strong and flat. The tail is paddle-shaped, flat, reaches 30 cm in length and 10-13 cm in width. The tail is pubescent only at the base, the rest of its surface is covered with horny scutes. The eyes are small, the ears are wide, short, and slightly protrude above the fur. Under water, the ears and nostrils close, and the eyes have special nictitating membranes. The common beaver has beautiful fur made up of coarse guard hairs and a thick, silky undercoat. The coat color ranges from light chestnut to dark brown, sometimes black. The tail and paws are black. Molting occurs once a year.

In the anal area there are paired glands, wen and the so-called “beaver stream”, the smell of which is a guide for other beavers, as it informs about the border of the family’s territory.

The common beaver is distributed in Europe (Scandinavian countries, France, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine), Russia, Mongolia and China.

Body length 90-117 cm; weight about 32 kg. The body is round, the chest is wide, the head is short with large dark ears and bulging eyes. The coat color is reddish or blackish brown. Tail length 20-25 cm, width 13-15 cm, oval shape, pointed end, surface covered with black horny scutes.

The species is distributed in North America, Alaska, Canada, USA, and Mexico. It was introduced to the Scandinavian countries and Russia.

Sexual dimorphism in beavers is weakly expressed, females are slightly larger in size than males.

Beavers usually live along the banks of forest rivers, streams and lakes. They do not live on wide and fast rivers, as well as reservoirs that freeze to the bottom in winter. For these rodents, tree and shrub vegetation along the banks of reservoirs and an abundance of aquatic and coastal herbaceous vegetation are important. In suitable places, they build dams from fallen trees, construct canals, and use them to float logs to the dam.

Beavers have two types of housing: a burrow and a hut. The huts look like floating islands made of a mixture of brushwood and mud, their height is 1-3 meters, their diameter is up to 10 m, the entrance is located under water. Beavers spend the night in such huts, store food for the winter, and hide from predators.

Beavers dig burrows on steep and steep banks, these are complex labyrinths with 4-5 entrances. The walls and ceiling are leveled and compacted. Inside, at a depth of up to 1 m, a living chamber is arranged up to 1 width and height 40-50 cm. The floor is located 20 cm above the water level.

Beavers are excellent swimmers and divers; they can stay underwater for 10-15 minutes and swim up to 750 m during this time.

Beavers live either alone or in families of 5-8 individuals. The same family has occupied their plot for many years. Beavers do not walk 200 m from water. Rodents mark the boundaries of their territory with a beaver stream.

The main periods of beaver activity are night and twilight.

Beavers are monogamous rodents. Breeding occurs once a year. The mating season begins in mid-January and lasts until the end of February. Pregnancy lasts 105-107 days. One litter contains 1-6 cubs, which are born in April-May. Babies are born semi-sighted, well-furred, and their weight is approximately 0.45 kg. After a few days they can already swim. The female teaches them to swim, pushing them out of the hut into the underwater corridor. At 3-4 weeks, the beaver cubs begin to eat leaves and stems of grass, and until 3 months the mother feeds them with milk. The young live with their parents until they are two years old, after which they reach puberty and begin an independent life.

In captivity, the life expectancy of beavers is up to 35 years, in the wild it is 10-17 years.

Natural enemies

Natural enemies river beaver- these are wolves, brown bears and foxes, but the greatest damage to the population of this species is caused by humans, exterminating beavers for their valuable fur and meat.

• The common beaver is the largest rodent in Europe and the second largest in the world after.
• The word "beaver" comes from an Indo-European language and is an incomplete duplication of the name for the color brown.
• Until the middle of the 20th century, beaver fur was very popular in America, Europe and Russia, which is why the population of these animals decreased noticeably: there were 6-8 isolated populations of 1200 individuals left. To preserve the species, beaver hunting was prohibited. Currently, the common beaver has a minimal risk status, and the main threats to it are land reclamation activities, water pollution and hydroelectric power plants.
• In addition to beautiful and durable fur, beavers are a source of beaver stream, which is used in perfumery and medicine. Beaver meat is also edible, but may contain salmonellosis pathogens. According to church canons, it is considered fasting.
• In 2006, a beaver sculpture was unveiled in the city of Bobruisk (Belarus). There are also sculptures of this rodent in the Alpine Zoo (Innsbruck, Austria).

River beaver , or, as it is otherwise called, ordinary, lives in the territories of Asia and Europe on the banks of reservoirs with non-freezing bottoms, in forests. The abundance of trees, shrubs and grass is very important for these mammals. Therefore, most often animals can be found on small canals, rivers, lakes, oxbow lakes, and rivers with rapid current they avoid. The beaver is hard-working and builds amazing natural structures and dams. The ancestors of today's beavers come from Asia, but they were very large - they reached almost three meters in length and weighed more than 300 kg!

Description of the river beaver

The beaver itself is about a meter long, and its flat tail, shaped like an oar, does not exceed 30 cm (but not less than 20 cm, about 15 cm wide), the weight of an adult individual is just over 30 kg. It is the largest rodent in the Old World and the second largest in the world, second only to the capybara. Interestingly, females are slightly larger than males.

The beaver has a strong, squat body, short limbs ending in special membranes, thanks to which the animal can swim. The round head ends with a blunt muzzle with small eyes and ears. The teeth are strong and powerful. Sharp claws on the paws help the beaver comb its fur.

The color of the thick fur is dark brown, light chestnut, and less often black. But the tail is covered with rather sparse hair growing between the horny plates. The beaver is conscientious in caring for its fur, which it constantly lubricates with a special substance secreted by its tail glands. This helps the wool remain waterproof. It was the luxurious fur that caused the animals to be intensively hunted, which is why they were on the verge of extinction.

The life expectancy of these animals reaches an average of 17 years.

The tail value is large: when swimming, it acts as a rudder, and also secretes a special secretion that serves to lubricate the fur. With its tail, the beaver notifies its relatives of danger by splashing through the water.

River beaver nutrition

Beavers- herbivores, in summer time the basis of their diet is tree bark, bush branches, fresh grass. And in winter, strong teeth allow them to feed on tree bark. In summer they make reserves by storing them in water.

Among the trees, their favorite ones are aspen, birch, and willow. They also enjoy eating acorns.

River beaver habitats

Due to mass extermination, the distribution zone of this rodent has significantly narrowed compared to its original range. If previously the beaver lived almost everywhere in Europe and Asia, now it is found exclusively in the Scandinavian countries, in the basins large rivers In France, Poland, Germany, Russia, Belarus, it can be observed in China and Mongolia.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, beavers have survived in Kamchatka, Khabarovsk Territory, Baikal region and some other regions.

River beaver lifestyle

Leads semi-aquatic image life. They prefer to live in holes, and if swampy terrain makes digging a hole impossible, they build huts from bush branches, which are glued together with silt and insulated with clay. Such a home also guarantees protection from predators. To prevent their homes from being flooded by rising water, beavers build their dams. This also helps prevent the water level from dropping, which will make the hut (burrow) accessible to a predator. For construction, tree branches are used, sometimes whole trunks, connected using earth, silt and clay. Often stones are also involved.
Impeccable hearing allows these rodents to detect damage to the dam and “fix” it in a timely manner.

Beaver – excellent swimmer, he dives well and can survive in the underwater environment for up to 15 minutes. And the entrance to their home is securely hidden under water.
In summer they are most active in the dark, especially at night, but in winter they switch to a diurnal lifestyle. These are very sociable and friendly animals and live in families.

At the beginning of January, the mating season begins, which will last until the end of winter. After pregnancy, which lasts on average three and a half months, from 1 to 6 cubs are born. They develop very quickly and at the age of just a couple of days they are capable of independent swimming.

River beaver conservation

River beaver included in the Red Book and is under protection. Hunting for it is prohibited.

Now the number of these animals is not critical, which suggests the effectiveness of conservation measures.

Video about river beaver

If you liked our site, tell your friends about us!

Many people have heard about him, but not everyone has seen him in person. The consonance of the animal's name with a word such as "good" made it popular in the context of sharing. There is such a comic poem, the beginning of which sounds like this:

“As you know, beavers are kind.

Beavers are full of kindness.

To everyone who wants good things for themselves,

You just need to call the beaver..."

So, let's take a closer look at what these are, where they live and what they eat, and also consider Interesting Facts about beavers.

Who is a beaver?

This is a mammal of the rodent order. The beaver first appeared in Canada, which is where it comes from. This is a trusting, intelligent and hardworking animal.

Earlier Catholic Church considered the beaver to be a fish, for this reason its meat was eaten during Lent. As for the attitude Orthodox Church To this end, she categorically forbade eating his meat - it was considered a sin.

The beaver is one of the largest rodents; in Europe it ranks first in this indicator, and in the world - second.

For example, an adult male's weight may be the same as that of an eight-year-old child. In addition to the fact that they are famous for their hard work, these animals are also very brave. So, if beavers get very scared, they may attack. But they won’t do it just like that, only in case of danger.

Animal in natural environment habitat can live up to 14 years, but in captivity it is even 2-3 times longer.

How do they look?

He has a squat body and short legs. There are membranes between the toes designed to improve swimming. The beaver has small eyes and short ears. The tail is flat and resembles an oar. Their color is mostly brown, but some individuals can be black. Weight is about 20-30 kg, body length is about 1 meter.

Beavers have a third eyelid to better navigate the water while swimming. Some people think that the tail helps beavers swim, but this is not true. In water, they use their webbed hind feet for this purpose. The tail serves more to maintain balance. With its help, they also regulate body temperature, and it is also a kind of pantry for storing fat. In addition, they slap them on the ground or water, thereby warning each other of danger.

They secrete a special liquid that gives the animal’s fur a water-repellent effect.

Magnificent builders

If you read interesting facts about beavers, you are truly amazed at their ability to build. The dams they built are visible even from space. They show incredible results in their construction. The length of the dams can be 700 meters. But this is not a record yet: a case was recorded when beavers in New Hampshire built a dam that was 1.2 km long. On average, it takes one beaver family a week to build a 10 m dam.

Interesting facts about such an unusual animal as a beaver say that on average, during its life, it can cut down 100 trees and build 50 dams.

They place the entrance to the dwelling under water, and make the mink itself above this level.

Thanks to powerful jaw muscles and sharp teeth, have great strength bite. They are capable of felling even powerful trees, but, unfortunately, this is precisely the reason why many deaths of these animals occur.

Beavers are very skilled builders: their dams are extremely strong, and the animals have an amazing sense of choosing the best places for their construction.

The amazing animal beaver: interesting facts about it

People always learn something new about them; they are very interesting and kind creatures.

1. These animals try not to stray far from the water and are always near it within 200 meters.

2. Due to the large size of their lungs and liver, they can hold their breath for as long as 15 minutes, which is a record for semi-aquatic mammals. During this time, this small animal can swim a decent distance of 700 meters.

3. And here's another amazing fact: Scientists who excavated the remains of a beaver dating back to ancient times were amazed. Just think, he was the size of a man! The height of the find was 165 cm, and the weight was 60 kg.

4. These animals easily bite through small branches, but can also cope with an entire tree. So, a beaver can chew through about 25 cubic meters per night. cm of some soft wood, like alder, aspen or poplar.

5. If we study interesting facts about beavers, we will find in them a recorded case when a beaver was able to fell a thick tree, the diameter of which was about 1 meter.

6. B Ancient Rus' in case of theft of a beaver, a heavy fine was imposed on the thief.

7. When the Indian tribes went hunting, they said a prayer, turning to the Great Beaver.

8. In Latin, the word “beaver” sounds like castor, which is where the name castor oil comes from.

9. Beavers most often die from being crushed by trees, which, however, they often cut down themselves.

10. Interesting facts about beavers describe a case where one of the rodents’ teeth stopped wearing out and continued to grow. It grew to such a size that it began to reach his left eye. But these cases still occur rarely.

11. Monuments were erected to these animals in the city of Bobruisk. The image of this animal is on Canadian coins.

12. In winter, they do not hibernate, but simply become less active.

13. Once upon a time there was a time when these animals were in danger of extinction, however, thanks to the measures taken, the situation was corrected.

Offspring

Beaver cubs live with their parents until they are about 2 years old. They can have up to 5 children at once.

Beavers do not teach their offspring the skills of building a home - this skill is already inherent in them from birth.

In their family, as a rule, there are 5-9 individuals, including parents and their cubs, which, having left them, can live alone for some time. Each family is assigned certain territory, which is allocated to them for many generations, its area can reach 3 square meters. m.

Beavers are monogamous. The head of the family is the mother. Their homes are always clean and warm.

For the winter, they store a lot of food in the form of tree branches, so they don’t have to worry about hunger.

And we continue the story about beavers.

Interesting facts: what do these animals eat?

Many people believe that their diet consists exclusively of fish, but this is a mistaken opinion: beavers do not eat fish at all. In fact, they are absolute vegetarians. The idea that these animals feed on fish was apparently formed due to the fact that they spend a lot of time in the water. But in fact, they feed on woody plants, because it’s not for nothing that they are given powerful incisors. They love to eat the wood of poplar, willow, and birch, and also feed on young, succulent shoots of plants.

Body Features

They are most active at night and at dusk. Some features of its body make life easier for the beaver. The split nail on the second toe allows the animal to comb its fur, and the tail, covered with hard scales, helps the animal burrow through the depths.

Beavers' teeth are worn down, and to compensate for this process, their incisors grow with quite high speed- approximately 0.5 cm per month.

Now let's look at whether beavers can be domesticated - interesting facts for children who might want to see this animal next to them.

How to care for it?

The interesting facts about beavers described above concern their life in natural conditions. What about life in captivity? The beaver can also live at home, although it is rarely seen in this capacity. It's not easy to maintain it. A beaver always needs to chew and build something, so he will try to do this within the walls of the house. So it wouldn’t be practical to just put him in an apartment.

It is better to make a large nursery or cage for him. You need to give him wood so he can wear down his teeth. He does not eat meat. He will eagerly eat tree bark, roots, shoots, brewer's yeast, nuts, herbaceous plants, mixed feed, fruits and vegetables, and special feed mixtures.

As a rule, the animal needs to be fed once a day, evening time. If we talk about the amount of food, the daily norm is about 1 kg.

There should be a small pool next to the beavers, because they are used to living in water.

Basically, these rodents are good-natured towards humans or can treat them with indifference, without showing any emotions. But sometimes there are individuals who show aggression, but these simply need time to get used to it.

Conclusion

Here we looked at interesting facts about beavers. There are many creatures in the world that arouse genuine curiosity among people, for example, among insects, one is the dragonfly, which has survived to this day since Jurassic period. and beavers are, in fact, amazing and sometimes amazing. Did you know that the dragonfly is a predator? And its effectiveness during hunting is 95%? Truly a miniature killing machine.

A short message about the beaver will tell you what they eat, where they live and how these animals build. A story about beavers for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Brief message about beavers

The beaver is a fairly large rodent mammal, known as a dam builder. Distributed in North America and Eurasia on the banks of forest rivers, streams and lakes. They build dams and dams from fallen trees, causing the water level in the dams they create to rise.

Description of the beaver for children

The beaver is a rather large rodent, its weight can reach up to 32 kilograms. Body length is about a meter. Him valuable fur However, there is no fur on the tail, instead there are scales. When a rodent swims, its fur does not get wet, and it does not freeze in the water. The tail is interestingly designed; it helps the beaver to “steer.”

The animal can spend up to fifteen minutes under water. It has swimming membranes on its paws, thanks to which the animal reaches speeds of up to ten kilometers per hour. There are also sharp claws on the front paws. The rodent's teeth, especially the four front incisors, are sharp; they are real tools and act like a saw.

The beaver family consists of several individuals, about five in total, but they can also live alone. In the fall, beavers work a lot, and in the summer - much less. In winter, they do not leave their homes at all, especially when it is cold.

Beaver lifespan- about 20 years in captivity, in nature - about 15 years.

What do beavers eat?

Beavers feed on the bark and young branches of trees that are specially felled for this purpose, gnawing at the base. But for the winter we have to make preparations: animals hide tree bark under water.

Beavers love to build. As soon as they like the area somewhere, they immediately begin to build. And definitely near water. The fact is that animals feel calm and safer in water than on land.

These water-loving animals can build burrows and huts. In both constructive option the exit from the home is under water.

The beaver liked the steep bank - he digs a hole. And if the shore is flat, then the animal builds a hut from branches, sticks, twigs; the animal uses clay and silt as a cementing mortar for the structure.

Beavers are smart animals, they are called “guardians of the rivers.” They build dams in the water basin and thereby prevent the reservoir from drying out. A beaver dam is an absolutely necessary building. Thanks to it, the water level rises, and the beaver’s life becomes more comfortable.

We hope this report on beavers has helped you. You can leave your report about beavers using the comment form.

A story about beavers based on the book " Green Pages" The beaver is the “King of Rodents”, this page is dedicated to him.
The beaver is a representative of the order of rodents, which includes only two species - the common beaver (Latin: Castor fiber) and the Canadian beaver (Latin: Castor canadensis). These are one of the largest representatives of the rodent order, which are second in size only to the capybara. The Canadian rodent differs from its European relative in having a less elongated body and a wider tail.
This is a large, massive animal; it is not for nothing that it is called the king of rodents. Its body length is from 1 to 1.2 m, reaching a weight of 30 kg. (Individuals can reach 32-33 kg.)

The “King of Rodents” has a squat body with short limbs, which have 5 fingers; the forelimbs are much weaker than the hind limbs. There are also membranes between the toes for swimming, which are more developed on the hind limbs. The beaver's tail is massive, paddle-shaped, its length is 25-30 cm, width - 10-12 cm. The tail is practically hairless and covered with keratinized scales (small hairs grow between them). At the top, in the middle of the tail, there is a ridge that makes the tail more rigid.

The “king” beaver has small eyes and small ears that close and prevent water from entering the ear canal. When diving under water, the beaver's nostrils also close. The front teeth (incisors), which the animal uses to gnaw, are separated from the oral cavity due to the special structure of the lips, so the beaver can easily get food under water without the threat of choking.
The king beaver's coat consists of two types of hair. Consists of long, coarse hair top part coat, under which is located the lower part - the undercoat, consisting of soft short hair. The peculiarity of its fur is that the undercoat never gets wet when immersed in water, so the beaver is always warm and dry, because only the upper part of the coat gets wet.
The fur color of the European beaver is often brown (black is very rare), the paws and tail are always black, like Canadian beavers, but among overseas relatives, black and brown colors are equally likely.

The beaver's habitat has quite large area. The common beaver lives in the basins of rivers such as the Rhone, Elbe, Vistula, in forest and forest-steppe zones Central and of Eastern Europe, as well as Russia, Mongolia and China. Their habitat is limited to the south - steppe zone, and in the north – forest-tundra. Canadian beaver lives in Alaska, almost throughout the United States (except for a few southern states), and is also found in northern Mexico. It was brought to Scandinavia, where it successfully took root.

Life of beavers in nature.

The beaver is an aquatic animal, so the life of beavers in nature passes
near bodies of water. Most often, this rodent chooses small rivers or streams, small lakes or small swamps in the forest. This is due to the peculiarities of feeding and living of these animals: they feed on shoots of young plants or aquatic vegetation. To live, they need a hole or hut, which they can take either after the previous owner, or build a new one (hut). On large bodies of water it is difficult to build a home and find food; it is also impossible to build a dam due to large sizes reservoir

The “King of Rodents” is a sedentary animal, so it can live in one territory all its life. They leave their homes only if living conditions deteriorate - lack of food, drying up of the reservoir or destruction of housing.
The beaver is famous for its building abilities. They can either dig a hole on the shore or build a hut in the middle of a pond. For burrows, they choose steep, slightly elevated banks. The burrow consists of several rooms, and the entrance to it is always located under water in order to protect itself and its offspring from predators.
If the river bank is not suitable for a hole, then a hut is built. In the center of the reservoir, the “foundation” of the future dwelling is built - first, the beaver applies clay to the selected place, and logs are placed on top of a thick layer of it. The hut is built on this “foundation” of small branches. It can reach large sizes - 8-10 m high and 12-15 m wide. As with burrows, the entrance to the home is located under water, and inside it there are several rooms.
However, the “engineering” abilities of beavers are not limited to digging holes and building huts. To combat the shallowing of reservoirs, these animals build dams. The technology is similar to the construction of huts - first a layer of clay is applied, logs are placed on top of it to create the foundation of a future dam, which are strengthened with small branches and clay. Thanks to this simple structure, the area of ​​the water surface increases. The reservoir becomes deeper and larger, which leads to swamping of the banks and an increase in the food supply.

A feature of beaver reproduction is a permanent partner, which is rare in the nature of the animal world. Mating season occurs in mid-late winter. Pregnancy lasts a little over a hundred days, and 3 or 4 cubs are born in April or May. Unlike other representatives of their order, beaver cubs are born already covered with fur and are visible from the first day of birth. A couple of days after birth, beaver cubs can already swim, and after 20 days of life they can feed on herbaceous vegetation. However, cubs leave their parents only after 2 or 3 years, because It takes a long time to master construction skills.
Man turned his attention to this animal a very long time ago. The beaver is valued for its fur, which is perfectly processed and stored and is one of the most valuable types of fur among wild animals in Europe. Beaver meat is also valued, having excellent taste qualities(Tail meat is especially valuable, which is similar to both fish and the meat of an ordinary animal.)

Because of this “usefulness,” this animal has always been actively hunted, but it reached its peak with the advent of the bourgeois system, when beavers were killed by the thousands. Due to active hunting, the population of this rodent began to decline sharply, and by the beginning of the 20th century, about a thousand beavers remained in the wild. Then measures began to be taken to restore the number of this valuable species- Hunting was practically prohibited, many nature reserves and sanctuaries were created. This gave excellent results, and now the beaver population is not in danger - neither in Europe nor in North America.
The king of rodents is an amazing animal, and the stories about the life of beavers in the book “Green Pages are interesting!