Beavers were protected then, though a beleaguered landowner could get permission to trap nuisance beavers after 1945. My father never bothered. They carried on a running battle for some months, and I think my father finally discouraged the beavers and they moved elsewhere. The Conservation Department trapped surplus animals from 1939 to 1955 and relocated them to suitable, but empty, habitat. Once reintroduced, beavers took off like a Cape Canaveral rocket.
Beavers are rodents, as are Norway rats and squirrels.
Beavers have an average of four young once a year. Their lifespan is about a dozen years. Most of it is spent in water. A beaver can stay underwater for minutes at a time-some researchers have timed beavers submerged for more than 15 minutes. The animal has large lungs, obviously, and an oversized liver, which stores oxygenated blood.