Beaver gnaws through a fallen limb, up close

Close-up of a beaver's face, mouth open to show orange incisors, with pale wood chips stuck in its whiskers and fur, green leaves behind and the freshly gnawed edge of a log below.

Footage: Mike’s Videos of Beavers · 3:17 · uploaded January 23, 2021
Written by My Crittercam · published November 6, 2026

The Story

Wood chips cling to the whiskers of a North American beaver as it leans over a fallen trunk and bites in again. The lens sits so close that each pale flake is easy to follow.

The filmer happened on this beaver at work and moved in tight on purpose. The beaver keeps working anyway. It is daytime, green leaves all round, a thicket of saplings behind. The head tilts, the incisors set, and a chunk of the limb comes away a mouthful at a time. Every so often it stops, lifts its head and stares straight down the lens, mouth full, before spitting the chips and going back in. It has the air of a tradesman checking that the apprentice is paying attention.

Those front teeth are the whole tool kit. Beaver incisors grow throughout life. The front enamel is hard and dark orange, colored by a high amount of iron, while the back is softer and wears away faster. So the edge stays sharp instead of dulling, bite after bite. Fresh beaver work carries their signature: twin grooves, each groove an eighth of an inch or more.

Daylight is less of a surprise than it looks. Beavers spend most of the daylight hours sleeping or resting in their living chambers and come out toward dusk, but they are often active during the day too.

On a standing tree the method is bolder. A beaver braces its forefeet on the trunk, props itself on its tail and gouges chips in an hourglass pattern. It starts with trees under 6 inches across, and one can gnaw through a five-inch tree in five minutes. Bringing a tree down puts the newer, more succulent growth from the canopy within reach.

This trunk is already on its side, so none of that is needed here. The job is sectioning, and by the end the limb is in two.

Field Guide

A wild beaver chews a chunk off a fallen tree trunk in daylight, filmed close enough to see the chips fly from its orange incisors. Full field guide for the North American beaver

Common name	North American beaver
Scientific name	Castor canadensis
Family	Castoridae (beavers)
Size	3 to 4 ft (1 to 1.2 m) long, 1 to 1.5 ft (0.3 to 0.5 m) tall; ADW gives 900 to 1170 mmSmithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan
Weight	35 to 65 lb (16 to 30 kg); heaviest on record 110 lb (50 kg)Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
Diet	Herbivore: bark, cambium, leaves, twigs and aquatic plants; aspen, poplar, willow, birch and maple favoredAnimal Diversity Web, University of Michigan · Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Active when	Mainly nocturnal, though often active during the day; most often seen around dawn or dusk; does not hibernate, but less active in winterSmithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife · National Park Service
Lifespan	10 to 12 years in the wild; oldest on record 30 years in human careSmithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Range	Throughout North America except arctic tundra, peninsular Florida and much of the desert SouthwestNatureServe Explorer · Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Conservation status	IUCN Red List: Least Concern; NatureServe global rank G5NatureServe Explorer · Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan
Cam notes · Camera	filmed in person, up close
Cam notes · Time of day	day
Cam notes · Season	green leaves (spring or summer)

Habitat

Beavers live in ponds, lakes, rivers, marshes, streams and the wetlands beside them.Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
They favor low-gradient streams, ponds and small mud-bottomed lakes with outlets they can dam.NatureServe Explorer
The species usually stays near deciduous trees and shrubs, the kind of leafy growth surrounding this beaver as it cuts.NatureServe Explorer

Behavior

In this clip
This beaver's incisors do all the cutting. They grow throughout life and stay sharp because the hard orange front enamel wears slower than the softer back.National Park Service · Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
To fell a standing tree, a beaver braces its forefeet on the trunk, props itself on its tail and gouges chips in an hourglass pattern.SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center
In this clip
Beavers spend most daylight hours sleeping or resting in their living chambers and emerge toward dusk, though they are often active during the day, as this beaver is.SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Felling trees gives a beaver access to the newer, more succulent growth high in the canopy.Pennsylvania Game Commission

Questions

How does a beaver chew through a tree so fast?

It braces its forefeet on the trunk, props itself on its tail and gouges chips in an hourglass pattern. One can gnaw through a five-inch tree in five minutes.SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center · National Park Service

Why are beaver teeth orange, and how do they stay sharp?

The enamel holds a high amount of iron, which makes it dark orange. The incisors grow throughout life and stay sharp because the hard front enamel wears slower than the softer back.Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · National Park Service · Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

What part of a tree does a beaver eat?

Beavers are herbivores that eat bark, cambium, leaves, twigs and aquatic plants. Aspen, poplar, willow, birch and maple are favored.Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan · Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Latest clips

A cinnamon-brown black bear lies on his side in dry leaves close to the camera, pale muzzle resting near one raised front paw that shows its dark pads, with green shrubs and sunlit foliage behind him.

Wilford the black bear digs a bed, then naps

A gray squirrel clings head-down at the top of a wooden nest box caked with snow, with snowy bare branches, a white-sided house and a fence behind it.

Gray squirrel clings to a snow-caked nest box

A red fox with black legs stands with her eyes closed among tall forest trunks while a pale pup rears up on its hind legs, front paws on her chest and muzzle against her mouth.

Red fox mother greets a pup between hunts

A bull elk with tall branching antlers and a shaggy dark brown mane lies in snow facing the camera, a wire fence and trees behind him, the word OMEGA in white under a yellow line near the top.

A bull elk rests in the snow, antlers high