Trees are cut into sections, which, along with smaller plants, are dragged or pushed to the water. Wilsson occasionally saw beavers walk bipedally, carrying a bundle of twigs in their arms. On land beavers usually have a slow quadrupedal gait, walking on the sole of the foot with the heel touching the ground. They are good swimmers and divers and can store oxygen. Beavers may give warning of danger by slapping the water with their tail as they dive.
Beavers are primarily nocturnal but sometimes begin work in the afternoon.
They are active throughout the year, but in northern parts of their range during winter they may leave their lodges only to travel to the nearby food cache. They may even remain lethargic and live off of stored body fat for a time. They do not hibernate. They feed on the bark, cambium, twigs, leaves, and roots of deciduous trees and shrubs, such as willow, alder, birch, and aspen, and on various parts of aquatic plants, especially the young shoots of water lilies. Beavers anchor sticks and logs underwater to feed on during winter.