What Do Beavers Eat? Beaver Species and Their Diet Guide
Have you ever seen a beaver in a cartoon show? They are usually shown building big dams out of wood, which can cause problems for some people. But in real life, beavers are amazing creatures that you might see in zoos or in the wild. In this article, we’ll talk about what do beavers eat and how they live.
We’ll cover everything you need to know about their diet and lifestyle, so you can learn more about these fascinating animals. Are you ready to explore the world of beavers? Let’s get started with our beaver diet guide right away![acf field=”Schema”]
What Do Beavers Eat?
Before getting into this animal’s eating habits, let us tell you some general aspects regarding the animal classification of these creatures.
Beavers belong to the Castor family, and surely they are part of the semi-aquatic rodent family of Animalia Kingdom. However, there are two popular species of Beavers.
· North American Beavers
· Erosion Beavers
The size of these creatures differs from species to species. Beavers of adult age can be almost three feet long, including their tail. In addition to it, the adult beavers’ weight goes round about 30 to 40 pounds.
There are numerous interesting facts about these animals. But first let’s put an eye on their eating habits and their overall diet in their life.
For Extra Reading: Why Do Beaver Build Dam
Beavers Diet Variations
People have different conceptions about what Beavers eat. And they also question that are Beavers herbivores? So let us answer this question for you. Beavers are entirely herbivores.
It is a clear fact, and they only feed themselves plant materials and do not eat animals at all. We have a list of some plant parts that Beavers like to eat in their diet.
Leaves
Beavers love to eat leaves, mainly woody plants. The intake of leaves as their food is only in warmer months like the summer season. Because in this season, the bark intake of Beavers is limited to only 10%.
So these days leaves count as a rich and healthy food source. Generally, Beavers love to eat the leaves of cottonwood, Willow, aspen, birch, and alder plants. These are rich in nutrition, and Beavers consume a significant amount of these leaves as their food.
Inner Barks of Trees
We can say that the inner bark of trees is Beavers’ favorite food. But Beavers’ consumption of the inner box of trees is only in the colder months or at the arrival of the spring season. The total intake of the inner bark of trees is up to 50% of their food consumption rate.
However, Beavers like Aspen trees the most, As it has an excellent nutritional value. Also, it helps them to fill their appetite. Other woody plants are also a food source for Beavers. For instance, below Cottonwood, Birch, and other woody plants or in the list.
Aquatic Plants
As we know, Beavers are semi-aquatic animals. Beavers have the potential to find their food underwater in the form of aquatic plants. They consume a significant amount and variety of aquatic plants.
Mainly they consume lilies and cattails. But they love to have brunch with the roots and stems of these aquatic plants. Many people assume that how Beavers can find their underwater food?
So here is a fact for you: Beavers can stay underwater for almost 10 minutes with their single breaths. And that is the reason that they spend a good time underwater finding their food in the form of water plants.
Plants Twigs
As we are discussing what do Beavers eat? Here is also another thing on the list that are plant twigs. Twigs are small dead woody plant parts that fall on the ground. They contain good nutrients in them, and that is why we like to have them in their food.
These are soft as compared to the bark of trees. There are many plant species that Beavers find tasty and consume as their food.
Ferns And Shrubs
Particularly in the summer season, Beavers love to have ferns and shrubs. They also prefer plant twigs in this season. Beaver can munch on different varieties of shrubs and ferns. However, their liking towards ferns and shrubs becomes significantly less in winter.
Grasses And Some Crops
Grasses and some crops also contribute much to the food of Beavers. Beavers consume different types of grasses. Hence if you have a question, do Beavers eat grass? The answer is definitely yes, and Beavers love to eat grasses in the summer season.
In addition to it, beavers also rely on different types of crops and their leaves and stems. Mainly these are bean crops and corn crops.
The likeness of beavers towards these crops can influence them to build their houses near agricultural farms so that they can easily feed themselves on their favorite food varieties.
We have now discussed a complete and detailed list of the food that beavers generally eat. And we are now very clear that Beavers are herbivores and rely on plant materials for their food consumption.
Now let’s move towards another significant part of our guide about Beavers food.
Beavers Food Consumption Rate
The Beaver’s food consumption is quite good. These creatures can consume about 300 trees per year. However, this sounds pretty destructive. But we cannot consider it a valid point as these animals are also beneficial in providing a habitat for other animals.
Following are some essential points about Beavers’ food consumption that play their role in helping other animals.
· Beavers only eat woody plants to fill their appetite. They do not like to eat pine trees in their food.
· Beavers have a healthy appetite and eat almost the same amount of food every season of the year.
· Though many species of rodent family hibernate in the winter season, Beavers do not hibernate, and as a result, they do not store food in the form of fat. Their food consumption rate is almost equal throughout the year.
· Beavers are very helpful in providing a water source to other animals and storing it for themselves. If you wonder what do beavers drink? They only drink water.
· Beavers create dams from the plant parts that other animals further use as their living place. Also, these dams are good water reservoirs.
It means a good amount of water stays in these dams, and it helps to quench the thirst of different animals in the summer season when the water resources are scarce.
What Is The Diet of Wild Beavers?
Wild Beavers live a kind of different lifestyle. While wild Beavers have only one source for their food consumption, that is available in their natural habitat. In the forest, they consume grasses, aquatic plants, shrubs and ferns, and the plants’ twigs.
The intake of these things is excessive, while the bark of trees is only 10% in hot weather. The intake of barks of the trees exceeds up to 50% in the winter season.
Beavers Food Storage Technique
When living in a natural environment, anytime they can face food scarcity. To tackle this situation, Beavers store their food in winter.
The storage of food is done with a unique technique. The Beavers store the wood in the mud under their lodges. The cold temperature keeps the mud cold, and as a result, the wood is preserved in it.
The cool temperature of mud prevents the wood from decaying. And Beavers use it as their food source in winters, mainly when the food shortage occurs.
Food For Baby Beavers
Baby Beavers eat soft food at their early stages of growth. Eventually, they start to learn to eat the inner bark of plants. However, when they are born, they completely rely on their mother’s milk.
The mammal mother produces milk in their mammary glands. Generally, the mother feeds their kids for almost three to six weeks on milk. Mother Beavers have four nipples for lactation of kits.
As baby kids grow a little, they are taught to eat soft leaves, twigs, and small branches. And after that, they start eating woody plants as the food source.
Do we hope that now you have got a piece of detailed information about what do beavers eat? Along with it, the food consumption rate and related things about these animals.
Are you ready to discover some interesting facts about Beavers? If yes, then stay tuned till the end.
Some Interesting Facts About Beavers
Many people want to know that do Beavers eat apples? This might sound funny, but we will answer this for you. Beavers are completely herbivores, and they rely on plant parts. To couple with, they also like to eat some berries, shrubs, and fruit, particularly in the summer season. So we can say that beavers eat apples and some other fruits as their snack.
Beavers possess a very protective nature. As they live in the form of groups and families of 8 to 10 individuals. They have high skills to alert other family members about the danger. In this regard, they slap on the water surface. This produces loud noise that helps to warn other Beavers from danger.
What do Beavers live in? It is one of the most frequently asked questions by people. So Beavers live in lodges. They made it from woody plants in different water bodies like ponds, rivers, streams, etc.
Beavers hold many remarkable characteristics that helped them live in a very suitable way. Beavers are crepuscular in nature. It means they are seen during the daytime, particularly at dusk. They are very active.
The unique thing about these rodent animals is their front teeth. Beavers have sharpened incisors that continue to grow, helping them break the hard bark of the tree. These teeth are highly trimmed.
Beavers make lodges to keep themselves safe from predators and harsh environmental conditions. These lodges are dry from the inside, so the temperature is very optimum compared to the outside environment. Moreover, please lodges are a safe way towards the food source. Beavers made these lodges with the help of tiny wooden parts and twigs of plants.
Why do Beavers build dams? These dams are very beneficial for environmental sustainability. These dams store water for animals and families of Beavers in the summer season. Furthermore, these dams help maintain an appropriate water level avoiding floods and soil erosion.
Hence these furry animals with long tails are highly advantageous for the environment. Although their intake of wood is high, they also sustain the environment in a very balanced manner.
Conclusion
We are finalizing our discussion about what do beavers eat? Beavers are herbivores, and they only eat food from plants. They mainly consume barks, leaves, twigs, shrubs, ferns, and aquatic plants. Beavers also consume some species of grasses.
These rodent animals’ activities are essential in maintaining the desired balance in environmental activities. If you have any queries related to their food consumption or their lifestyle. We are available to clear up all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How long do Beavers live?
Occasionally, Beavers’ lifespan goes up to 16 years. And they reach their adult or maturity stage in two to three years.
Q2:When are female Beavers sexually active?
Female Beavers are sexually active when they are almost 2.5 years old. This is also called the adult stage of female Beavers.
They give birth to 1-6 kits and feed them on milk. Usually, female Beavers give birth between the months of April and July.
Q3:What do Beavers do when food is scarce in a region?
Beavers tend to move to another region where the food quantity is surplus. They stay in a region and consume the food freely. If there is a food shortage, their communities will move to the subsequent areas.
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