Eurasian Beaver

animal comeback · builder · Europe and Asia · water

Hunted to the brink. Eurasian beavers were killed for their soft fur and a special scent they make called castoreum. By the early 1900s, only about 1,200 were left hiding in eight small forests across France and Mongolia.

Returned from extinction. People worked hard to bring beavers back to places where they used to live. Today there are at least 1.5 million beavers again, living from Western Europe all the way to China and Mongolia.

Master dam builders. Eurasian beavers use their strong teeth and smart brains to chew down trees and build dams that create wetlands. These wetlands help many other animals survive and keep water clean.

Russia's beaver stronghold. About half of all Eurasian beavers live in Russia today, making it the safest place for this species to call home.

Safe and thriving. The Eurasian beaver is now listed as 'least concern' on the endangered species list, meaning it is no longer at risk of disappearing.