What is Mountain Beaver?
Despite its name, the Mountain Beaver is not actually a beaver, although it is classified as a rodent. This can be found the westernmost parts of North America, especially in wetter forests. Instead of building dams, as well as real beavers, Mountain Beaver kicks sophisticated tunnel systems underground. Some scientists believe it is the oldest type of rodent in the world. Some people also refer to this rodent as a giant mole or ground bear. Sometimes it is also referred to as Beaver Seweltel, the type of cloak, which made a native American trunk from his Pelt.
Mountain Beaver is not related to the North American or Eurasian beaver. In fact, it's not even a beaver at all. This rodent gets its name from the way it chews and removes the bark and limbs from the trees.
Mountain Beavers are roughly the same size as Muscrat. Adult mountain beavers will usually grow about 1 or 2 feet (30.5 or 61 centimeters) long, from nose to tail. Usually has a very short tail that rarely grows longer n1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters). It is a coat, usually brown to reddish -brown color, depending on the subspecies.
Lewis and Clark first described this animal during their travels to the western part of North America. Today, this large rodent can be found mainly west of Cascade Mountains. It can be found from the northern part of the state of California and north to the British Colombia, Canada.
Mountain Beaver does not live only in the mountains. It often occurs in the humid forests of this area. Although it will inhabit deciduous forests, it generally prefers areas with coniferous trees.
One of the most common symptoms of Mountain Beaver is the entrances to the underground lair. There can be several inputs into this complicated underground tunnel system and usually move on average about six inches (15.2 centimeters). These tunnels also usually contain several chambers for storage and hard stools.
Many scientists believe thatMountain Beaver is the oldest live rodent today. Some even refer to it as a living fossil, because his body is so primitive. For example, the kidneys of this rodent are much less sophisticated than in modern animals. They are unable to completely process urea animal acid, so mountain beavers have to drink more water than other animals. Therefore, it is usually found to be a wet climate with severe collisions.