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Beavers are large, brown furry animals that have a flat, leathery tail and are part of the rodent family, though they are much larger than most rodents. Adult beavers typically weigh 25-50 pounds, although they can tip the scales at 65-70 pounds. They have the ability to hold their breath for about 15 minutes. Their powerful hind legs act like flippers and their tail is a forceful rudder enabling them to reach a speed of up to five miles per hour.

Beavers are vegetarians. During the warm-weather months they eat a wide variety of leaves, aquatic grass, weeds and plant roots. They also love cattails and water lilies. During the winter, green leaves are hard to find, so their diet shifts to bark from trees and shrubs. Before their home waters freeze over in early winter, they often cut down several nearby small trees and drag them into the water where they can access them from under the ice and have plenty of food all winter.

Sealed from the cold and protected from predators, the beaver shares its lodge with an extended family. Made of mud, twigs and branches, its lodge is a formidable structure unmatched by any other animal. Sadly, the North American beaver population is only one percent of what it used to be. Trapping for its fur and use in the cosmetic industry, as well as increased human land use, have taken a toll on this engineering rodent.