Beaver (North American beaver) Coloring Pages

They Live in North American Rivers

Beaver (North American beaver)s are animals that live in rivers and lakes in North America.
Their bodies are about 74 to 90 centimeters long, and they weigh about 20 kilograms.
They have chubby bodies and a big, flat tail.
They do not live in the wild in Japan, but you can see them at the zoo.

A Tail Like a Hand Fan

The tail of a Beaver (North American beaver) is flat like a hand fan, and the surface is covered with a pattern that looks like scales.
When they swim, they use their tail like a rudder.
When there is danger, they slap the water with their tail with a big splash to tell their friends.
Take a look at the scale pattern on the flat tail in the first and second coloring pages!

Orange Front Teeth That Keep Growing

The front teeth of a Beaver (North American beaver) are very strong and orange.
These teeth keep growing all through their lives.
They wear them down by gnawing on trees, so their teeth stay just the right length.

They Cut Down Trees and Make Dams

A Beaver (North American beaver) can use its front teeth to gnaw on trees and cut them down.
They carry the branches, stones, and mud to block rivers and build dams.
They trap water with the dam to make a pond, and they build their lodge right in the middle.
That is why people call Beaver (North American beaver)s "nature's engineers."

The Lodge Entrance Is Underwater

A Beaver (North American beaver)'s lodge looks like a small mound made of stacked branches and mud.
The entrance to the lodge is underwater, so enemies cannot get inside.
The second coloring page shows one sitting on a rock, using its front paws to groom its fur.

They Live with Their Families

Beaver (North American beaver)s live in a family with a dad, a mom, and their children.
The whole family works together to build and fix their dams and lodges.
Young ones live with their family for about two years, and then they leave for a new home.

They Are Great in the Water

Beaver (North American beaver)s are great swimmers.
Their noses and ears close up so water cannot get in.
They also have clear eyelids over their eyes that work just like swimming goggles!
Once they dive, they can stay under the water for a long time.
Beaver (North American beaver)s are especially active from evening to night.

For the fur, use dark brown and brown

Beaver (North American beaver) fur is dark brown and brown.
For the first page with dry fur, use mostly light brown. For the second page with wet fur, use mostly dark brown to make them look different.
If you make the edges of the fur a little darker, it will look fluffy!

For the tail, use dark gray and black

The flat tail is dark gray or blackish brown.
You do not have to color the scale pattern one by one. Color the whole tail first, then trace the pattern lines to make them stand out!

Front teeth, hands, and feet

If you can see the front teeth, try coloring them orange.
We recommend dark brown or a blackish color for the hands and feet, and gray for the claws.

Rocks and water

Color the rocks on the second page gray and the grass green.
If you add light blue water around it, it will look just like Beaver (North American beaver) by the water!

Wet fur and dry fur

The Beaver (North American beaver) on the second page just got out of the water, so its fur is wet.
Wet fur sticks together in pointy clumps.
If you trace the tips of the fur clumps with a slightly darker color, it will look wet!

Make the eyes and nose small and clear

Beaver (North American beaver) eyes are small, so color them carefully with black.
The nose is dark brown. Trace the whiskers thinly with gray to bring the face to life!
The first page has no background, so we recommend drawing a river or a dam around it.
For the rock wall in the back, try mixing light gray and dark gray!

Canada's national symbol

Beaver (North American beaver) is known as a famous symbol of Canada.
You can even find a picture of Beaver (North American beaver) on the Canadian 5-cent coin!

At the zoo in Japan

There are no wild Beaver (North American beaver) living in Japan.
In 1965, Ueno Zoo in Tokyo successfully raised a baby Beaver (North American beaver) for the first time in Japan.

Difference from the nutria

There is an animal called a nutria in Japanese rivers that looks a lot like Beaver (North American beaver).
A nutria's tail is long and thin, not flat like the tail of Beaver (North American beaver).
You can tell them apart right away if you look at their tails!

Storing nutrients in the tail

The flat tail of Beaver (North American beaver) stores fat.
This helps them get ready for winter when there is not much food to eat.

Dams help other living things

Many creatures like fish, birds, and frogs gather in the dam ponds built by Beaver (North American beaver).
Beaver (North American beaver) really helps make the nature around them rich and full of life!
Tree stumps chewed by Beaver (North American beaver) are left with a sharp, pointed tip just like a pencil.

Clever front paws

The front paws of Beaver (North American beaver) are very clever.
They use them to grab and chew on small twigs, or to carry mud.