The beaver is a largelargerlargest, semi-aquatic animal with a large, flattened tail. It is the second largelargerlargestthe largest rodent on the earth. It lives in , , , and . It is a strong swimmer. Their hind feet help propel them through the water.�The beaver can swim underwater for up to 15 minutes. Young beavers are called . Beavers live in forests in America and in parts of Europe and .
Beavers build lodges and dams out of sticks and mud. The dome-shaped is built in water and only has underwater entrances. Beavers cut down trees for the dam using their strong front teeth, also called . Their ears and nostrils can close with while the beaver is underwater.
Although very much similar to each other, there are several important differences between the two species. European beavers tend to be smallsmallerthe smallestbigbiggerthe biggest. Fur colour is also different. European beavers have lightlighterthe lightestdarkdarkerthe darkest fur. North American beavers have mostly �fur. The colonies of Europian beavers are generally smallsmallerthe smallestlargelargerthe largest. Oddly, the European beaver has no interest in dam construction, they dig in the stream bank.
The European Beaver was hunted almost to extinction� in Europe. It is still endangered, classified as (NT)on the Red List of Threatened Species. However the beaver is now being throughout Europe.
�
