When the giant beaver roamed over North America, other animals steered clear. As big as a bear, this plant eater had buck teeth like its modern cousins, though they were long and curved, and they made nasty weapons. The giant beaver didn't build dams and underwater dens with secret entrances because it didn't need to hide from predators. Few could tackle its bulky body or avoid the beaver's bite.
One Big Beaver: The giant beaver looked similar to beavers that live on Earth today, but were much bigger. This beast measured more than eight feet long-about the size of a black bear-and weighed up to 450 lbs.
Cutters: This beaver's incisors (front teeth) were thin, curved and up to six inches long. They were sharp at the ends, and could have wounded attackers; the beaver used them mostly to slice leaves and roots.
Beaver Hut[]
Modern beavers are one-tenth the size of their ancient cousins.
This ancient giant didn't build the engineering marvels of dams and dens like those constructed by modern beavers. The giant beaver, with its huge teeth, snapped branches that were up to three inches thick in a single bite and piled them on top of each other to build a hut of sticks. Not many creatures would bother to disturb the home of an eight-foot-long beaver. Remains of giant beavers and their dens have been found in dried-up swamps, and leave a perfectly preserved picture of how these big beasts lived.
Snow Beaver: Giant beavers setttled all over North America, from what is now Florida all the way up into the Arctic. The creatures lived during the last Ice Age, so they probably had more than one coat of thick waterproof fur to keep them warm.
Beaver Legend: Stories from the northeastern Pocumtuck Indian Tribe tell of a giant beaver that emerged from its swampy home to devour people. The beaver was killed by one of their gods, and its huge head was said to have formed Mount Sugarloaf in Massachusetts.
Timeline[]
The giant beaver lived 3 million to 10,000 years ago, during the Tertiary and Quaternary Periods.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- Giant beavers are sometimes referred to as Castoroides.
- In the 'Snow Beaver' section, 'settled' has an extra 't' in it.
- The giant beaver featured on several Monster Mania cards:
- It is used as part of one of the example creatures in Build-A-Beast on Monster Mania 55.
- It is then featured in Man & Beast on Monster Mania 65.