About Beavers

North America's largest rodent is also one of its most important ecosystem engineers.

Nature's Engineers

Beavers (Castor canadensis) are remarkable animals that actively modify their environment in ways that benefit countless other species. By building dams, beavers create ponds and wetlands that serve as habitat for fish, amphibians, waterfowl, and mammals.

Before European colonization, an estimated 60-400 million beavers lived across North America, shaping the continent's waterways. Their activities created vast wetland ecosystems that stored water, filtered pollutants, and supported incredible biodiversity.

Though beaver populations declined dramatically due to the fur trade, they have made a remarkable comeback and continue to play a vital role in Arkansas's ecosystems.

Beaver Facts

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    Size

    Adult beavers weigh 35-65 pounds and can be over 3 feet long, plus a 12-inch tail.

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    Lodges

    Beaver lodges are dome-shaped structures with underwater entrances, providing protection from predators.

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    Family Life

    Beavers are monogamous and live in family groups. Young beavers typically stay with their parents for two years.

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    Activity

    Beavers are primarily nocturnal, doing most of their building and foraging at night.

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    Diet

    Beavers are herbivores, eating bark, leaves, and aquatic plants. They store branches underwater for winter food.

Ecosystem Benefits

Beaver-created wetlands provide services worth billions of dollars annually, including water purification, flood control, and carbon storage.

Biodiversity Hotspots

Beaver ponds support 80% more species than comparable streams without beavers, including rare and endangered species.

Water Storage

A single beaver pond can store millions of gallons of water, releasing it slowly during dry periods.

Salmon Recovery

Beaver ponds provide critical rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and other native fish species.

Wetland Creation

Beavers create wetlands 10-100 times more cost-effectively than human engineering projects.

Climate Resilience

Beaver wetlands buffer against both floods and droughts, helping communities adapt to climate change.

Natural Water Treatment

Beaver ponds remove up to 45% of nitrogen from agricultural runoff, improving downstream water quality.

"Beaver wetlands are our coral reefs, our rainforests. They are among the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth."

— Beaver Institute