🦫 American Beaver

The landscape engineer. Its webbed hind foot is unmistakable in fresh mud.

Hind 5–7 in long, front 2–3 in. Huge webbed hind foot, five toes. Small hand-like front print. Tail drag often erases the trail. Chewed stumps and mud slides nearby.

Streams, ponds, lakes with woody shoreline. Nearly all of North America.

Nocturnal and crepuscular

Bark, cambium, aquatic plants

Beaver teeth are orange because iron in the enamel keeps them chisel-hard.