What Do Beavers Eat?

Beavers eat bark from trees and branches more than any other food. They are most attracted to soft-barked trees like aspen and poplar. Bigtooth aspen, balsam poplar, and Eastern cottonwood are favorite trees. Beavers fell these trees with their strong teeth and then eat the bark. The bark provides nutrition and the wood is used for building dams and lodges. Beyond bark, beavers eat the leaves, twigs, and inner wood of many plants. In and around water, they munch on aquatic plants like water lilies and cattails. The broadleaf cattail is common in beaver ponds. Beavers also enjoy eating shrubs like beaked sedge and bog myrtle that grow near water. Wood is not truly food, but beavers digest the inner bark layer, which is nutritious. This specialized diet makes beavers unique among North American rodents.

Beavers adjust what they eat as seasons change. In spring and summer, when plants are growing, beavers have plenty of fresh leaves, stems, and aquatic vegetation. They eat soft plants like clover and water plants. Summer is when they fatten up and prepare for winter. Fall is crucial because this is when beavers cut down and store trees for winter food. They fell aspen and willow trees and drag branches to underwater caches. These underwater stores keep the wood fresh and accessible under the ice. In winter, when everything above water is frozen, beavers live inside their lodges and rely on their stored wood. They pull branches from the underwater cache and eat the bark throughout winter. Early spring can be hard because winter stores run low and new plants have not started growing yet. But as soon as ice melts and plants begin to grow, beavers switch back to fresh vegetation.

Beavers across North America adapt their diet to local trees and plants. In northern forests like Massachusetts, beavers have access to balsam fir, black ash, and black spruce. These evergreens provide food even when other trees are bare. The American beech and Canada yew also grow in northern regions. Beavers in Texas experience a warmer climate and different vegetation. They may eat more water plants and shrubs since different tree species grow there. In Washington, coniferous forests provide options like spruce and fir. Beavers living near rivers find more willows. Those in swampy areas encounter more cattails and sedges. Mountain beavers prefer different plants than those in lowland areas. Beavers are smart and learn which plants in their region are best to eat. They remember where good trees grow and return to those spots year after year.

Beavers are engineers when it comes to getting food. They use their powerful front teeth to cut down trees. Their teeth never stop growing, so gnawing on bark and wood keeps them sharp. Beavers can fell a six-inch diameter tree in just a few minutes. Once the tree falls, beavers strip the bark from branches and the trunk. The inner bark is the part they eat. In water, beavers dive down to pull up aquatic plants. They are excellent swimmers and can stay underwater for several minutes. Beavers often work at night when predators are less active. They will carry branches across land and in water to move food where they want it. In fall, beavers work hard to cut trees and cache them underwater. A beaver family might store hundreds of branches for winter. This preparation is what allows beavers to survive frozen winters in northern climates.

Newborn beavers are called kits. For the first few weeks, kits nurse on their mother's milk. At around three weeks old, kits start eating solid food alongside nursing. They watch adult beavers eating bark and begin to copy this behavior. Weaning happens at around two months old, though kits may continue nursing longer. Young beavers eat soft plants and bark from small twigs at first. As they grow, they learn to eat tougher bark and to use their teeth to peel bark from branches. By the time kits are about a year old, they are eating like adults. Staying with their parents teaches young beavers where to find food and how to survive. First-year beavers learn which trees are best to eat and where to find aquatic plants. They also learn how to cut trees and prepare food for storage. This learning period is crucial for survival in their first winter.

Beavers sometimes live near farms, gardens, and human homes. They may cut down trees on property or dam up streams, causing flooding. While this can be frustrating for people, beavers are just looking for food and building materials. They might eat bark from fruit trees or damage landscaping. The best solution is to protect valuable trees by wrapping trunks or removing trees beavers are likely to cut. Feeding beavers is not recommended. Beavers do not need human help to find food in nature. Offering them grains or other foods can make them rely on people. It also makes them less cautious and more likely to cause property damage. Beavers are wild animals adapted to feed themselves. The healthiest approach is to let them live naturally. If beavers cause problems, working with wildlife experts can help find solutions that respect both beavers and people.

Beavers share their wetland homes with other animals that also eat plants. Muskrats, which are rodents like beavers, eat cattails and other water plants but do not cut trees. Nutrias, another rodent, eat vegetation but are much smaller than beavers. Moose also eat willows and aquatic plants but are much larger. A moose can eat 60 pounds of plants daily. A beaver eats much less, around three to four pounds a day. Unlike deer, which browse on shrubs and leaves, beavers rely heavily on tree bark. Beavers are unique because they cut down trees, not just eat from existing vegetation. To learn more about wildlife diets and behaviors, visit the wildlife information page. This makes beavers excellent engineers of their environment. For sounds beavers make, check out the beaver sounds page. Their construction changes entire ecosystems and creates homes for many other species.