The Famous Canadian beaver (Castor Canadensis) is the second largest rodent in the world next to the Capybara. While the Capybara is thriving in it’s South American climates, like Venezuela, its much smaller rodent cousin Castor Brazilensis is not faring as well. Unrelenting clear cutting along the Amazon in Southern Brazil is threatening the habitat of this much smaller rodent. Like the Canadian beaver the Capybara is able to manage a wider range climate conditions, however the Castor Brazilensis is much more vulnerable to temperature. Efforts to re-establish Castor Brazilensis in cooler climates have failed. None of the transplanted Brazilian beavers survived the winter in the Washington State’s Olympic National Park. Clearly this charming, industrious and vulnerable creature can only survive in its native habitat within Brazil’s wet lands. Clear cutting exposes beavers to harsh penetrating climates. It is time for beaver lovers everywhere to stand up and push for harder regulations in Brazil’s wet lands.
