What Does a Beaver Look Like?
Beavers are the largest rodents in Wisconsin. An adult beaver can grow up to 3 to 4 feet long and weigh between 25 and 60 pounds. They have reddish-brown fur and a large, flat tail covered with dark, leathery scales. The webbed hind feet and broad tail help the beaver maneuver in the water. Beavers have small eyes and ears, and their nose has valves that close when they are underwater. They are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes. Beavers also have large orange-red incisors that allow them to chew through wood.
Behavior & Habits
Beavers are often called “nature’s engineers” because of their innate ability to modify and reshape their environment. While beaver dams may cause issues for humans, this behavior plays an essential role in the proper functioning of the ecosystem. By controlling water levels, beavers create wetlands and other habitats for fish, birds, and other animals. Beavers are primarily aquatic animals, venturing on land only to find food. Since beavers do not hibernate, they must store food for the winter. Beavers usually cut small trees, but they are capable of cutting down trees over five feet in diameter.
Professional Beaver Removal in Milwaukee, WI
If you notice a beaver dam on your property, it is important to take immediate action. Beavers can cause significant damage to property, including cutting down valuable trees, damaging crop fields, and causing flooding.
Advanced Wildlife and Pest Control specializes in beaver removal in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our certified wildlife removal specialists have the tools and knowledge to trap and remove nuisance beavers from your property.
Beaver Damage
Beavers use their sharp incisors to cut down trees to form lodges and dens. In urban areas, beavers may damage valuable trees and shrubs. Beavers can cause flooding by building dams that block drainage ditches, streams, and culverts. While the habitats beavers create may offer short-term benefits for other nearby wildlife, they can have long-term negative impacts on streams and ecosystems.
Beaver Diseases
Beavers can transmit diseases like tularemia and giardiasis (beaver fever) to humans. These illnesses are typically transmitted through direct contact with infected animals, drinking contaminated water, and tick bites. Do not drink water where beavers are present. Symptoms of tularemia include skin ulcers, swollen lymph glands, inflamed eyes, diarrhea, and sore throat. Symptoms of giardiasis include watery stools, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and dehydration.
Beaver FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What do beavers eat?
Beavers are herbivores. Most of their diet consists of tree bark and cambium, the soft tissue that grows under the bark of a tree. Beavers especially like the bark of willow, maple, birch, aspen, cottonwood, beech, poplar, and alder trees. They will also eat aquatic plants such as water lilies, duckweed, and cattails.
Where do beavers live?
Beavers are herbivores. Most of their diet consists of tree bark and cambium, the soft tissue that grows under the bark of a tree. Beavers especially like the bark of willow, maple, birch, aspen, cottonwood, beech, poplar, and alder trees. They will also eat aquatic plants such as water lilies, duckweed, and cattails.
When do beavers have babies?
Beavers are monogamous, which means they mate with one partner for life. The mating season for beavers in Wisconsin usually takes place from January to February. After a gestation period of about three months, female beavers give birth to two to four kits between late April and July. The young beavers are weaned at around two months of age and stay with their parents for two years. An established colony of beavers consists of an adult pair and two years of offspring.
How long do beavers live?
The average lifespan of a beaver in the wild is ten to twelve years. Coyotes, foxes, bobcats, bears, and wolves prey upon beavers.
What does beaver poop look like?
Beaver scat consists mainly of wood chips. The oval pellets are 1 to 2 inches long and look like a mix of sawdust, woodchips, and mud in a snowball shape. Beaver droppings are hard to find since they defecate in the water and disintegrate quickly.
What do badger tracks look like?
Badgers walk in a pigeon-toed fashion, so their tracks point inward. They have large paws, which leave wide and blocky imprints. The front tracks measure 2-3 inches long and 2 inches wide. The front claws are very long and extend about an inch ahead of their toes, leaving noticeable marks. The hind tracks are slightly smaller, and the rear claw marks usually do not make an imprint.
Illustration by Dan Goodman