Beavers are herbivores, meaning their diet consists entirely of plant material. They are widely known for their engineering abilities, particularly their construction of dams and lodges.
Beavers and Berries: The Truth
Beavers do consume berries, but these are typically an opportunistic or supplementary part of their diet rather than a primary food source. They may eat berries such as raspberries, cranberries, and other types found near water sources. This consumption usually occurs when berries are seasonally available, especially during late summer and fall. Berries provide a valuable source of vitamins and sugars, offering a sweet and nutritious addition to their usual fare. While they may climb trees to reach higher fruits like apples, their consumption of berries is generally limited to those found on low-lying shrubs or fallen to the ground.
Beyond Berries: A Beaver’s Core Diet
A beaver’s core diet focuses heavily on woody plants and various aquatic vegetation. They eat leaves, twigs, and the inner bark, also called cambium, of deciduous trees like aspen, willow, birch, cottonwood, and maple. The cambium, a soft layer of new wood growth just beneath the bark, is a preferred food item, particularly during colder months. These trees are favored due to their nutritional content and the relative softness of their wood, which is easier for beavers to process with their continuously growing incisors.
Beavers also consume a wide array of herbaceous and aquatic vegetation. Their diet includes water lilies, cattails, sedges, rushes, grasses, clover, and ferns. Water lilies are often a significant component of their diet where available. These soft plants are particularly important during the warmer months when they are abundant.
Seasonal Shifts in Beaver Foraging
A beaver’s diet changes significantly throughout the year, adapting to the seasonal availability of different plant materials. During spring and summer, when fresh vegetation is plentiful, beavers primarily forage on tender leaves, aquatic plants, and other herbaceous growth.
As fall approaches and plants begin to mature and greenery becomes fibrous, beavers transition to consuming more woody vegetation and preparing for winter. They diligently collect branches and stems from preferred deciduous trees to create food caches, which are submerged piles of woody material near their lodges. These caches, typically initiated in autumn, provide a food source when water bodies freeze over and terrestrial foraging becomes difficult or dangerous due to predators. By storing an average of 1,500 to 2,500 pounds of edible bark, twigs, and leaves, beavers ensure they have enough sustenance to survive the colder months.