FAQ

In some states it’s illegal for anyone except a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to possess wild animals, and a rehabber is best able to care for a kit. To find a rehabber, call the local animal shelter, state wildlife agency, sheriff’s department or a veterinarian.

Cher Button-Dobmeier (585) 466-7811 is a wildlife rehabilitator who is an expert in the care of beaver kit orphans and injured adults.

Any nursing orphan that has been separated from its mother for a few days is probably dehydrated, and should be first offered a rehydrating solution, such as Pedialyte, from an eyedropper or small nursing bottle. Gradually add formula (one part ready-made Esbilac to one part Half and Half) to this. Kits need to be kept warm, but also need to defecate in water. Some people use a bath tub with a nest box at one end, and water in a washtub at the other end. They also should be offered poplar or willow leaves and rodent blocks. Kits should be released in the spring of their second year to have the best chance of survival.

Until the food runs out–this may occur in a few years or a few decades.

Yes, but if the first mate dies, they often find another. As occurs in many species, a new male may reject the offspring of the first one.

No, but the adults of both sexes tend to be very territorial once the family unit is established. They post their territory with scent mounds that tell other beavers that this wetland is occupied.

Beavers are vegetarians that often prefer to eat herbaceous plants, such as clover, grasses, raspberry canes and aquatic vegetation, instead of the green bark, leaves and twigs of fast growing trees, such as aspen and willows. Beaver can survive on the tubers of water lilies.

Definitely not. Beavers have an active life all winter long, even when trapped under the ice in the North. They normally store enough food underwater to last them till the ice melts and retrieve it through their underwater exits and entrances to their lodges.

20-30 years in captivity. Dorothy Richards had a beaver that lived over 20 years in an addition to her house. In most areas with predators and beaver trapping, they live 10 years or less.

By water or land, and if by land, this is where much mortality occurs from predators, such as coyotes, and accidents. They have been known to travel tens of miles. The two-year-olds usually leave home to find their own territory, and create new ponds by daming streams. At the same time, they often dig a burrow in the side of a bank, lay sticks on top and then burrow upward to start a lodge. As they build up the dam to increase the water level, the lodge becomes surrounded by water. If the waterway is a river they may just build a bank burrow.

Rarely. They belong to the order rodentia, but are more closely related to squirrels than to mice. Beavers are gentle social animals that have a strong inhibition against biting. They can become somewhat aggressive during the mating season, which usually occurs in the winter. Any animal, however, may bite when frightened or cornered, so avoid a hissing or blowing beaver.

Both sexes have a cloaca similar to a chicken, i.e. only one opening for the digestive, urinary and reproductive systems. Since there are no external sex organs, observation of enlarged nipples can be used to identify a nursing female. Because the penis has a bone, X-rays or palpitation are other common methods. Another way is to express the anal glands of a tame, or immobilized animal. If the secretion is dark (brownish), then it is a male. If light (clear or whitish), it is a female.

There are no special names for the male or female, but the babies are called kits.

Beavers are limited by the amount of available habitat and food. They are also limited to areas with lakes and waterways, which is normally only a few percent of the landscape.

Only a small fraction of the former North American beaver population, prior to European settlement, remains, and much of their former habitat has been developed. Since one colony (family) can require a half mile of streamside habitat, their population is unlikely to explode. Also, beaver birth rates slow as available sites become occupied.

Go to our store for videos, books and literature. And visit scotsbeavers.org to learn about the European beaver, Castor fiber and Scotland’s attempt to reintroduce beavers.

Removal tends to be only a short term solution, since if there’s good beaver habitat others are apt to take their place and you will have the same conflict. It is usually better to solve the specific problem and live with the beavers, because they produce such valuable habitat that provides essential services for humans.

Use of drowning sets is inhumane, because beavers can hold their breath for ten minutes or more and suffer intensely from hypoxia (lack of oxygen) before death without undergoing carbon dioxide narcosis. You may want to look at our Solving Problems Page.

Beavers are active mainly at night, but occasionally can be seen out and about during the day. The best time to see beavers is at dusk, i.e. about an hour before darkness or at sun up early in the morning.

No! Beavers are not tree climbers since they are too bottom heavy. If you do see a beaver-like animal in a tree (except for a tree leaning at an extreme slant), it is most likely a ground hog i.e. woodchuck.

Because beavers are semi-aquatic animals, they are usually found close to water except when seeking a new territory. If you do find a beaver-like animal far from the water grazing on your lawn, check the tail to see if it is a ground hog (woodchuck). A woodchuck’s tail is furry.

A muskrat is also aquatic, but is quite small compared to a beaver.The muskrat tail is flat vertically and wiggles back and forth when swimming. The beaver tail of course is flat horizontally.

Nutria have more of a rat-like tail that is round, not flat. Also, the face is different, but only to someone who is quite familiar with beavers.

A female beaver has 4 nipples, but can have more than 4 kits. The nipples are only visible when she is pregnant or lactating while feeding her kits.