Rivers, ponds and lakes, preferably bordered by poplar, willow alders and other hardwoods or having plenty of water plants.

The beaver is the largest North American rodent and is well adapted to its largely aquatic existence. The tail and hind feet are used for rapid swimming and diving, and it can travel half a mile or more under water without coming up for air. Beavers come ashore to cut trees for food and building material and may travel overland between bodies of water. Its gait on land is slow and awkward. The four sharp chisel-like front teeth grow contiguously, but continuous wood cutting keeps them worn down. They stay sharp because they wear slowest at the cutting edge and faster toward the back of the tooth. The animal's small hand-like feet are not used in swimming but to carry sticks, mud and stones, to build and to hold food. The middle claw on each of the hind feet is split and acts like a comb when the animal grooms its fur. Beavers usually mate for life. Typically, the adult male and female, plus up to two year's litters, may be found living together in one colony. In summer a beaver family may be somewhat dispersed but after leaf-fall the entire family comes together to repair the house and dams and cut down a winter store of nutritious twigs and plants. Poplar is particularly preferred in summer; alder, birch and maple boughs are usually cut for winter. These are stored under water near the entrance to the lodge.

Mating takes place under the ice in February and March. At spring breakup the family begins to disperse again. The female has her one to six kits in May in the winter house, or in one nearby. Furred but helpless when born, the young beavers may leave the house on short excursions when one month old and weighing only two pounds. By fall the kits may weigh some 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds). But they are still not capable of fending for themselves outside the colony. It is common for young beavers to remain in the home colony until just before their second birthday. Then they leave the home site to find a mate and a new location to establish a colony. The beaver is a valuable fur bearer to Prince Edward Island trappers who in previous years harvested 200 annually. While a single large oval dried pelt (about three feet in diameter) may bring $30 or more, the average value for all sizes and grades is about $14 each.

www.flickr.com Souris & Area Branch PEI Wildlife Federation's Beavers photoset