BEAVERS (Castor fiber) 



The Beaver has a wide distribution in the temperate parts of 

 Europe and North America, though its numbers are rapidly 

 diminishing on account of the merciless way in which it has 

 been hunted down for the sake of \ts pelt. This furnished the 

 material from which top-hats and the like were originally made. 

 Originally dwelling in a simple burrow scooped out in a river- 

 bank, the animal has gradually evolved into a skilled architect, 

 capable of constructing a dam across the course of a stream, the 

 framework consisting of the trunks and branches of trees felled by 

 the powerful incisor teeth. Upon the dam rounded dwellings or 

 " lodges " of mud are constructed, with openings well below the 

 water level. The broad flattened tail is a swimming organ, and is 

 not used as a trowel as often stated. 



