North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Order: Rodentia

Husbandry Information

Housing Requirements

Diet Requirements

Veterinary Concerns

Notes on Enrichment & Training

Other

Colony or Breeding Management

 

Individual Identification

 

Programmatic Information

Transportation

Temperature Guidelines

 

Crating:

Tips on Presentation

Touching Techniques

Tips on Handling

 

Potential Messaging

• Plastic/Styrofoam – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Conventional plastic and Styrofoam (That’s pretty much all plastic and Styrofoam.) do not biodegrade. Whether items made of these materials are thrown on the ground as litter or thrown away in the trash, they tend to end up in our rivers and oceans, each piece staying in these ecosystems for decades or centuries. Large pieces of plastic float in the water or wash up on the shore, often entangling birds, mammals, and fish and destroying coral reefs. Smaller pieces are mistaken for food and eaten by many species. Please ask zoo guests to avoid disposable plastic and Styrofoam packaging, opting for re-usable alternatives: cloth tote bags instead of plastic grocery bags, filtered tap water instead of bottled water, re-useable plastic food storage (like Rubbermaid containers) instead of Styrofoam boxes. Ask them to recycle plastic rather than throwing it away and to purchase products that are made of recycled materials. Participating in a beach or river clean-up is also a great idea. http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/plastic-ocean/http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/water-bottle-pollution/

Acquisition Information

 

Comments from the Rating System

• Natural Science Center of Greensboro: Great motivation for training; smart; easy to work with and care for.

Natural History Information

Range and Habitat

 

Physical Description

 

Life Cycle

 

Behavior

 

Threats and Conservation Status

 

Did you know…

Photographs

 

Documents

Contributors and Citations

• Houston Zoo, Natural Encounters

Top Photo: By Steve from washington, dc, usa – American Beaver, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3963858