# English beavers and American beavers - what are the differences? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050 "2002-08-15T17:05:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/1 "2002-08-15T17:05:21Z")
I was reading another SDMB [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130776) and it was revealed to me that England actually had beavers in abundance at one time but they are now thought to be extinct. I was suprised by this as I had never thought of England as having any beavers at all. In any case, I have looked in Google and all I can find are some references to Finnish beavers but nothing about English beavers. Were English beavers (when England had beavers) similar or identical to American beavers? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/2 "2002-08-15T17:11:46Z")
The European beaver, _Castor castor_, which includes the ones that formerly occupied the British Isles, is thought by many authorities to be the same animal as the American beaver, _Castor canadensis_. It will be obvious from the binomial nomenclature that they are in the same genus; the question is whether they are two subspecies of _C. castor_ or two different species. I’m not familiar with what particular differences separate them, except that _C. canadensis_ is known to grow to a somewhat larger size. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/3 "2002-08-15T18:05:32Z")
There are plans to release some beavers back into the wild in southern England. The plans have not been welcomed by some people including owners of fishing rights on rivers and forest and woodland owners because of the damage the animals might do to the the trees and the river banks. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/4 "2002-08-15T19:23:58Z")
Having sampled both, I’d say it’s largely a question of which dialect their owners speak. Wait! Before you take me for a drag, here’s some information: [European beavers](http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.eb.html) _(castor fiber)_. A trial project to introduce fifty beavers back into Scotland was scheduled to begin this year. As **Polycarp** suggests, there is some controversy over whether or not the Eurasian beaver and the American beaver are different creatures, or the same creatures with environmentally influenced differences. [Further complicating matters](http://lynx.uio.no/jon/lynx/alertpo.htm), it looks as if a colony of American beavers somehow got loose in Poland at some point. It looks to me as if separate populations of the same critter have been classified as different subspecies, which may also cause confusion. They are all doubtless very similar. And of course I would be remiss if I failed to mention the [giant beaver](http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/giantbev.htm), which apparently [knew its way about town](http://www.attrition.org/gallery/signs/hiway/tn/69beaver.jpg.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/5 "2002-08-16T04:30:31Z")
Dammit, I want to be castigated for my big bad beaver joke! You were all too easy on the beaver last night. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/6 "2002-08-16T04:59:50Z")
Consider yourself _castorgated_ ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/7 "2002-08-16T10:37:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*Dammit, I want to be castigated for my big bad beaver joke! You were all too easy on the beaver last night. \*\* Hmmm… I swear I’m going to take a picture of this someday… in Troy, Michigan, along Interstate-75, exit **69** is called **Big Beaver** Road. Oh, I’m here 'cos I thought the question was about shaving… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/8 "2002-08-16T11:02:38Z")
Somebody told me that the European Beaver doesn’t build dams, but that doesn’t appear to be true. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/9 "2002-08-16T13:54:16Z")
So when trapping beavers for their pelts was a major business in the U.S., I always thought it was because Europe didn’t have any beavers, but now I find out they had them! Maybe the beavers in Europe were just not as abundant? Was their fur any different? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/10 "2002-08-16T14:56:52Z")
The English beaver are brown in colour, while the American beaver is brown-colored. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/11 "2002-08-16T15:34:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ratatoskK \* > \*\*So when trapping beavers for their pelts was a major business in the U.S., I always thought it was because Europe didn’t have any beavers, but now I find out they had them! Maybe the beavers in Europe were just not as abundant? Was their fur any different? \*\* No, no, please God no, don’t mention beaver fur! If I’m not mistaken, the properties of European beaver fur was one of the few questions not covered in exhaustive detail in the ‘Mad as a hatter’ thread. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=63738&perpage=50&highlight=mercury%20AND%20hatter&pagenumber=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=63738&perpage=50&highlight=mercury%20AND%20hatter&pagenumber=1) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-beavers-and-american-beavers-what-are-the-differences/124050/12 "2002-08-16T15:57:57Z")
_Slooowly I turned, …_ The Sesquhanna (beaver) Hat Co.