Which is the largest rodent in North America?

The beaver is the largest rodent in North America. More specifically, the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is a semi-aquatic mammal that can weigh around 35–50 pounds, making it larger than other familiar North American rodents such as porcupines, muskrats, squirrels, and rats.

Beavers are famous for their engineering skills. Using powerful orange incisors, they cut trees and branches to build dams, lodges, and underwater food stores. Their dams slow streams and create ponds and wetlands, which provide habitat for fish, amphibians, birds, insects, and other mammals. This is why beavers are often called “ecosystem engineers.”

A common mix-up is the capybara: it is the world’s largest living rodent, but it is native to South America, not North America. The beaver is generally considered the second-largest living rodent worldwide, behind the capybara. Another historical curiosity is that beaver fur helped drive the North American fur trade from the 1600s through the 1800s. Its broad, scaly tail acts as a swimming rudder and also helps the animal signal danger by slapping the water.