Baxter the Beaver

Hey kids! My name is Baxter. I am a beaver. I live in Canada, just like you. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I am a rodent. Rodents are animals that bite off or gnaw things. In my case, it is mostly poplar or hardwood trees that I like to gnaw.

I like to eat bark. The tastiest bark comes from the top branches of poplar and hardwood trees. In order to get at these branches, I have to chop down the whole tree. I have special chisel-like teeth that help me do that.

I am a very fast swimmer. I have a flat tail and webbed feet that help me to swim. I have to know how to swim because I live in ponds and streams.

One thing that I really like to do is to build a dam. The reason that I do this is to ensure that I will always have lots of water at the proper depth, near my home. I am meant to live in and near the water.

I use the branches from the trees that I chopped down to build the dam with. I weigh these branches down with mud and rocks. It is very time consuming and hard work for me to build a dam.

My dams are not useless structures as some of you may think. My dams are made to help store water during the rainy seasons so that during the dry seasons I will have plenty of water. My dams also help in the control of floods.

My house is made out of mud and sticks and is usually located in a pond or stream. I leave an air hole in my house so that I can breathe. The floor of my house is located above the level of the water.

My young ones are called kits. They are usually born in the early spring. Kits are born with their eyes open and they are born with soft fuzzy fur.

I possess soft silky fur and when full grown, I can weigh anywhere from thirty to fifty pounds. I am about three to four feet long.

I do most of my work at night. I am very diligent and hard-working. I am also a lot of fun to watch. The next time you see me swimming around in a pond or stream, take a few seconds and watch me. I can be very interesting to see when I’m at work.