Beavers are an aloof species that avoid people and other potential threats at all costs. Because of this, there are a lot of misconceptions about beavers that exist. Not to mention their portrayal in popular media (think children’s cartoons) often misrepresent the beaver. Here are some common beaver myths debunked.
Beavers are bigger than you think
Every time I hear of someone seeing a beaver for the first time in the wild, there’s always a comment on just how big they are. While beavers may be rodents, they are by no means tiny animals. In fact, they can get up to 31 kilograms in some cases! They are certainly bigger than what most people expect.
Beavers don’t live in dams
A common myth I’ve debunked multiple times is that beavers do not actually live in dams. I believe the misconception comes from the fact that beavers are associated with this main structure, but in truth, it serves a different purpose. The dam is what creates the pond that beavers use to travel, forage, store food, gather mud, and seek protection from land predators. Instead, beavers actually live in lodges, where they sleep safely and out of harm’s way.
Beavers DO NOT quickly eat all off the trees in one area and leave
Perhaps in a more extreme case where a habitat is not sufficient to support a beaver colony, this may seem to be the case. However, beaver foraging and damming activity have the opposite effect, serving to promote the growth of many plant species, such as willows.
Beavers don’t multiply like some other rodents
Beavers often don’t begin reproducing until the age of two or three. A mated pair typically has been 2-6 babies, called kits, once a year. That’s all. Even the babies from the previous year (also called yearlings) hang around to help care for the new generation.
Not all beavers end up building dams or lodges
If you pause and think critically about the purposes of these structures, you can quickly realize that beavers may not actually have to do all of this building. For example, if a river is already deep enough, it wouldn’t be practical to build a dam. There are also dispersing beavers who may just be passing through an area where a simple bank den or burrow will suffice. Building consumes a lot of energy, so beavers will only do so when needed.
Beaver ponds are bad for fish and/or their dams block fish migration
This one is tricky and often depends on the habitat and the type of fish. It is important to keep in mind that beavers and fish have coexisted for at least a million years. Current beaver populations are a fraction of what they were before and fish have continued to survive. In some cases, the presence of beavers may even be beneficial to fish populations.
Lethal management is not easier, cheaper, or more effective than humane forms of management
Lethal control is only a temporary solution and will need to be continually repeated as new beavers disperse into the habitat left empty by beavers being trapped. It is more effective to use nonlethal coexistence strategies, such as tree-wrapping or flow devices, that address the problem for the long term.
Beavers do not use their tails to carry mud and pat it down
As cute of an image as that is, beaver tails serve the purpose of acting as a rudder in the water and a balancing stand when the rodents are on land.
