North American beaver
Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820
The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is a rodent in the family Castoridae, within the order Rodentia and the class Mammalia. It is a medium-sized mammal with an adult body mass of 21.8 kg, and it is a nocturnal, terrestrial herbivore of forest habitats.
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Quick facts about the North American beaver
Its main foods are aspen, poplar and willow.
- Weight
- 19 kg – 21.8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14 years – 23.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 23.4 years
- Main food
- aspen, poplar, willowsrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 114 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 21.1 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the North American beaver
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the North American beaver live?
Not recorded
What is the North American beaver?
The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). It is native to North America and has been introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe (primarily Finland and Karelia). The North American beaver is one of the national symbols of Canada and the official state mammal of Oregon and New York. North American beavers are widespread across the continental United States, Canada, southern Alaska, and some parts of northern Mexico.
In Canada and the United States, the North American beaver is often referred to simply as "beaver;" however, this can cause some confusion because another distantly related rodent, Aplodontia rufa, is often called the "mountain beaver". Other vernacular names, including American beaver and Canadian beaver, distinguish this species from the other extant beaver species, Castor fiber, which is native to Eurasia.
From the Wikipedia article “North American beaver” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=North_American_beaver&oldid=1383357265), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the North American beaver endangered?
The North American beaver is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction. Assessed 2016.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the North American beaver classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyCastoridae
- genusCastor
- SpeciesCastor canadensis Kuhl, 1820
Synonyms Castor caecator, Castor canadensis acadicus, Castor canadensis baileyi, Castor canadensis belugae, Castor canadensis caecator, Castor canadensis canadensis, Castor canadensis carolinensis, Castor canadensis concisor, Castor canadensis duchesnei, Castor canadensis frondator, Castor canadensis idoneus, Castor canadensis labradorensis, Castor canadensis leucodontus, Castor canadensis mexicanus, Castor canadensis michiganensis, Castor canadensis missouriensis, Castor canadensis pallidus, Castor canadensis phaeus, Castor canadensis repentinus, Castor canadensis rostralis, Castor canadensis sagittatus, Castor canadensis taylori, Castor canadensis texensis, Castor subauratus shastensis, Castor subauratus subauratus
Other names and names in other languages (97)
- Admiralty beaverEnglish
- American beaverEnglish
- Bank beaverEnglish
- BeaverEnglish
- Canada beaverEnglish
- Canadian beaverEnglish
- Canadian beaverEnglish
- Carolina beaverEnglish
- Flat-tailEnglish
- Rio Grande beaverEnglish
- Sonora beaverEnglish
- OofattaAlabama
- قندس أمريكيArabic
- hebesArapaho
- AmiskwAtikamekw
- Канадаялъул хундузAvaric
- Американски бобърBulgarian
- Avank AmerikaBreton
- Castor americàCatalan
- ᏙᏯCherokee
- Hóma'eCheyenne
- ɬq̕tə́w̕əčclm
- bobr kanadskýCzech
- Nordamerikansk bæverDanish
- KanadabiberGerman
- Amerikanischer BiberGerman
- Kanadischer BiberGerman
- Αμερικανικός ΚάστοραςGreek
- Kanada kastoroEsperanto
- Castor AmericanoSpanish
- Castor canadienseSpanish
- paluqtaqCentral Yupik
- kanada kobrasEstonian
- Kanadar kastoreBasque
- سگ آبی آمریکای شمالیPersian
- KanadanmajavaFinnish
- amerikanmajavaFinnish
- castorFrench
- Castor canadienFrench
- Castor du CanadaFrench
- Kanadeeske beverWestern Frisian
- beabuhgul
- בונה קנדיHebrew
- Pahonahop
- Kanadski dabarCroatian
- kanadai hódHungarian
- PałuktaqInupiaq
- Castoro canadeseItalian
- Castoro americanoItalian
- アメリカビーバーJapanese
- Канада құндызыKazakh
- 아메리카비버Korean
- Ухссавнил Американал къундузlbe
- eduthemidldn
- Kastɔró ya KanadáLingala
- Kanadinis bebrasLithuanian
- Kanādas bebrsLatvian
- Американ умдырMari
- kopitMi'kmaw
- Atí:ronMohawk
- Канада ындырWestern Mari
- EccaswvMuscogee
- EchaswvMuscogee
- q'at'awamyh
- Chaaʼ íiyisígííNavajo
- KanadabeverNorwegian Bokmål
- AdmiraltybeverNorwegian Bokmål
- CarolinabeverNorwegian Bokmål
- RiograndebeverNorwegian Bokmål
- SonorabeverNorwegian Bokmål
- Canadese beverDutch
- Amerikaanse beverDutch
- Noord-Amerikaanse BeverDutch
- amerikabeverNorwegian Nynorsk
- amerikansk beverNorwegian Nynorsk
- nordamerikansk beverNorwegian Nynorsk
- amikOjibwa
- bóbr kanadyjskiPolish
- Castor-americanoPortuguese
- Castorul americanRomanian
- Канадский бобрRussian
- Североамериканский бобрRussian
- Bobr KanadskiiRussian
- Kanadski boberSlovenian
- Канадски дабарSerbian
- amerikansk bäverSwedish
- nordamerikansk bäverSwedish
- Amerika KunduzuTurkish
- Yeni Dünya kunduzuTurkish
- Америкаысь мыйUdmurt
- Бобер канадськийUkrainian
- Hải ly châu MỹVietnamese
- Tummunkwam
- Entiron’wyn
- 河狸屬Chinese
- 北美河貍Chinese
- 美洲河狸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the North American beaver
Other species in the same genus Castor.
Eurasian beaver
Castor fiber
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is the North American beaver?
The North American beaver has an adult body mass of 21.8 kg, which places it in the medium size class.
What does the North American beaver eat?
It is a herbivore whose main foods are aspen, poplar and willow.
Is the North American beaver endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the North American beaver live?
Its lifespan ranges from 14 to 23.4 years.
How many young does the North American beaver have?
It has 3 to 4 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 114.4 days.
What kind of animal is the North American beaver?
It is a mammal, a rodent in the family Castoridae and the suborder Castorimorpha.
Who named the North American beaver?
Its scientific name, Castor canadensis, was given by Kuhl, 1820.
When does the North American beaver reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 1.8 years (643.6 days).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). North American beaver (Castor canadensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/north-american-beaver
“North American beaver (Castor canadensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/north-american-beaver.
@misc{north_american_beaver_2026,
title = {North American beaver (Castor canadensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/north-american-beaver},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}