A beaver is a very beautiful and funny animal. Many have heard of him, but far from everyone has seen him live. The harmony of the name of the animal with such a word as "good" made it popular in the context of sharing. There is such a comic poem, the beginning of which is as follows:
“As you know, beavers are kind.
Kindness beavers are full.
Anyone who wants to do well
You just need to call a beaver …"
So, we will examine in more detail what these cute animals are, where they live and what they eat, and also consider interesting facts about beavers.
Who is a beaver?
This is a rodent mammal. The beaver first appeared in Canada, it was from there that he came from. This is a gullible, intelligent and hardworking animal.
Previously, the Catholic Church considered beaver fish, for this reason its meat was eaten during fasting. As for the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards this, it categorically forbade eating its meat for food - this was considered a sin.
Beaver is one of the largest rodents, in Europe it takes first place in this indicator, and in the world - second.
For example, the weight of an adult male 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 are very scared, then they can attack. But just like that, they will not do this, only in case of danger.
The animal in its natural habitat can live up to 14 years, but in captivity, even 2-3 times more.
How do they look?
He has a squat body and shortened paws. Between the fingers there are membranes designed to better swim. The beaver has small eyes and short ears. The tail is flat in shape and resembles an oar. Mostly their color is brown, but some individuals may be black. Weight about 20-30 kg, body length - about 1 meter.
Beavers have a third eyelid to better navigate in the water while swimming. Some people think that the tail helps beavers swim, but this is not so. In water for this purpose they use webbed hind legs. The tail also serves more to maintain balance. With it, they also regulate body temperature, and he is also a kind of pantry for storing fat. In addition, they slap them on the ground or water, thereby warning each other about the danger.
A special liquid is released from them, which gives the fur of the animal a water-repellent effect.
Great builders
If you read interesting facts about beavers, you are truly amazed at their ability to build. The dams erected by them 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: the case was recorded when beavers in New Hampshire built a dam that was 1.2 km long. On average, in order to build 10 m of dam, one beaver family needs a week of time.
Interesting facts about such an unusual animal as a beaver say that, on average, in his life he can cut 100 trees and build 50 dams.
They place the entrance to the dwelling under water, and the mink itself is made above this level.
Thanks to powerful jaw muscles and sharp teeth, they have great bite strength. They are capable of felling powerful trees, but, unfortunately, for this reason, many deaths of these animals occur.
Beavers are very skilled builders: their dams turn out to be extremely strong and at the same time these animals have an amazing instinct to choose the most successful places for their construction.
Amazing little beaver: interesting facts about him
They always learn something new, they are very interesting and kind creatures.
1. These animals try not to go far from the water and are always near it within 200 meters.
2. Due to the large size of the lungs and liver, they can hold their breath as much as 15 minutes, which is a record for semi-aquatic mammals. During this time, this small animal can swim a decent distance equal to 700 meters.
3. And here's another amazing fact: scientists who unearthed the remains of a beaver, remaining from 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 can easily bite small twigs, but can cope with a whole tree. So, a beaver can gnaw about 25 cubic meters per night. see any soft tree, 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 knock down a thick tree, whose diameter was about 1 meter.
6. In Ancient Russia in case of theft of a beaver, a large fine was imposed on a thief.
7. When the tribes of the Indians went hunting, they recited a prayer, addressing the Great Beaver.
8. In Latin, the word "beaver" sounds like a castor, and the name of castor came from it.
9. Beavers most often die from the fact that they are crushed by trees, which, however, often, they cut themselves.
10. Interesting facts about beavers describe the case when one of the rodents tooth stopped wearing out and continued to grow. He grew to such a size that he began to reach his left eye. But these cases still rarely occur.
11. These animals were erected monuments in the city of Bobruisk. The image of this animal is on the coins of Canada.
12. In winter, they do not hibernate, but simply become less active.
13. Once there was a time when these animals were threatened with extinction, however, thanks to the measures taken, they managed to rectify the situation.
Progeny
Beavers live with their parents until about the age they turn 2 years old. They can be born immediately up to 5 children.
Beavers do not teach their offspring how to build a home - they already have this ability in them from birth.
In their family, as a rule, there are 5-9 individuals, including parents and their cubs, who, having left them, can live alone for some time. Each family is assigned a certain territory, which is assigned 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 of beavers.
Interesting facts: what do these animals eat?
Many believe that their diet contains only fish, but this is a misconception: beavers do not eat it at all. In fact, they are absolute vegetarians. The opinion that these animals feed on fish, apparently, was formed due to the fact that they spend a lot of time in water. But in fact, they feed on woody plants, because it is not for nothing that they were given powerful incisors. They like to feast on poplar, willow, birch wood, and also feed on young juicy shoots of plants.
Body features
Most active at night and at dusk. Some features of his body make life easier for the beaver. A split nail on the second finger allows you to comb his hair, and the tail, covered with stiff scales, helps the animal break through the depth.
Beaver teeth grind, and to compensate for this process, their incisors grow at a fairly high speed - about 0.5 cm per month.
And now we will consider whether beavers can be domesticated - interesting facts for children who, perhaps, want to see this animal next to them.
How to care for him?
Interesting facts about beavers described above relate to their natural life. What about life in captivity? A beaver can live at home, although it is rarely seen in this quality. After all, keeping it is not easy. Beaver always needs to nibble and build something, respectively, he will try to do this in the walls of the house. So just to settle it in the apartment will be inappropriate.
It is better for him to make a large nursery or cage. We need to give him wood so that he grinds his teeth. He does not eat meat in food. He will eat tree bark, roots, shoots, brewer's yeast, nuts, herbaceous plants, mixed fodder, fruits and vegetables, and special feed mixtures.
As a rule, the animal needs to be fed 1 time per day, in the evening. If we talk about the amount of food, then the daily norm is about 1 kg.
Near the beavers there should be a small pool, because they are used to living in water.
Basically, these rodents are disposed to a person good-naturedly or may treat him with indifference, without manifesting any emotions. But sometimes individuals who show aggression are found, but such people just need time to get used to.
