KNOWLEDGE BASE

This study followed Eurasian beavers over 18 years to understand why they stay in their territories for different lengths of time. They found that beavers which arrived in a territory when they were older stayed longer, likely because they were bigger. Medium-sized territories were best for long stays, suggesting larger ones were too hard to patrol and smaller ones lacked resources. Holding a territory led to more baby beavers, showing how important these decisions are for their survival.

In Norway, scientists investigated growth and reproduction in 59 female beavers. They found that beavers often first became parents around age two or three, but sometimes later. Pregnancy was more common in heavier, fatter beavers. It was fairly common for female beavers to take a year off reproducing. They also explore how nutrition across the different seasons affects beaver reproduction.

This book features 37 essays exploring a wide range of organisms from viruses to plants to beavers and other animals. It looks at their lives and their role in folklore and scientific discoveries. This showcases how nature's solutions inspire human innovation. The essays are said to be engaging and humorous. Please note, this resource is not open-access.

For the first time, researchers located (within the Eurasian beaver's genetic sequence) the code for some specific proteins associated with pregnancy. The text describes the gene's structure, some of the ways it varies across different individual beavers, and the methodology they used to identify it. Little research had been conducted on beaver genetics at the time of writing.

This paper used a computer models to predict where beavers would be likely to live in Flanders, Belgium. The paper highlights which factors are important for beaver settlement, including distance to water and availability of certain tree species. At identified locations, additional monitoring could help to identify and manage potential conflicts early on, ensuring a more peaceful coexistence between humans and beavers.