page_title: North American beaver
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: North American beaver / Urban beavers / Canada
caption_attribution_description: The east end of the park was hit hard in the floods, the wild life seem to like it.The beavers have been busy felling trees and building dams.
context_page_description: The North American beaver is one of two extant beaver species. It is native to North America and introduced in South America and Europe. In the United States and Canada, the species is often referred to simply as "beaver", though this causes some confusion because another distantly related rodent, Aplodontia rufa, is often called the "mountain beaver". Other vernacular names, including American beaver and Canadian beaver, distinguish this species from the other extant beaver species, Castor fiber, which is native to Eurasia. The North American beaver is an official animal symbol of Canada and is the official state mammal of Oregon and New York.
context_section_description: Several Canadian cities have seen a resurgence in its beaver population in recent decades. The beaver population in Calgary was approximately 200 in 2016, with the majority of the population located near the Bow, and Elbow River. When required, the City of Calgary will use a combination of methods to prevent beaver damage to trees and river parks. Methods of damage prevention includes the placement of a mesh wire fence around the tree trunk, planting trees less palatable to beavers near shorelines, placing under-dam drainage systems to control water levels; and placing traps designed to kill instantly, as Alberta Environment and Parks does not allow the relocation of caught beavers to other areas.
  Beavers have occasionally wandered into Downtown Ottawa, including Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park, and Sparks Street. Beavers caught in the urban core of Ottawa by the National Capital Commission's conservation team are typically brought to a wildlife centre, and later released near the Ottawa River, close to the Greenbelt. In 2011, the City of Ottawa began to trap beavers taking up residence in the stormwater pond in the Stittsville neighbourhood. Ottawa is situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the southern entrance to Gatineau Park. Located on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, the park is home to one of North America's densest populations of beavers, with more than 1,100 beavers in 272 beaver colonies according to a 2011 aerial inventory of the park. The beaver population at Gatineau Park is monitored by the National Capital Commission in an effort to protect local infrastructure, and maintain public safety.
  The City of Toronto government, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) do not keep track of the number of beavers residing in Toronto, although an estimate from 2001 places the local beaver population at several hundred. Beavers are commonly found along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, and make their way throughout the waterway corridors of the city, most notably the Don, Humber, and Rouge River; the ravine system adjacent to the waterways, and the Toronto Islands. The City of Toronto government does not have any plans to either control the spread, or contain the number of beavers in the city. However, the city's urban forestry department will occasionally install heavy mesh wire fences around the trunks of trees to prevent them from being damaged by beavers. In 2013, flow devices were installed along the Rouge River, in order to prevent beaver dams from flooding the river. Prior to their installation, beavers whose dams caused the river to flood were trapped. In a 2017 TRCA report on local occurrences of fauna in Greater Toronto, beavers were given a score of L4. The score was given to species whose populations were secure in the rural portions of Greater Toronto, but whose populations in the urban areas of Greater Toronto remained vulnerable to potential long-term decline of its habitats.
  Several dozen beavers were estimated to inhabit Vancouver in 2016. Beavers have inhabited Jericho Beach as early as 2000, although they did not move into the other areas of Vancouver until later in that decade. After an 80-year absence, a beaver was spotted in Stanley Park's Beaver Lake in 2008. In 2016, five beavers inhabited Beaver Lake. In the same year, a pair of beavers built a dam in Hinge Park. The Vancouver Park Board approved a strategy that included plans to promote the growth of the beaver population near the Olympic Village in 2016.
  Beavers in Winnipeg numbered around 100 in 2019, and live along the city's rivers and streams. After receiving complaints for beaver-related damages in 2012, the City of Winnipeg has placed mesh wire fence around tree trunks along the shore of the Assiniboine River during the winter; as well as laid down traps designed to kill the beavers. Like Alberta, provincial guidelines in Manitoba do not allow for the live capture and relocation of beavers. The City employs one contractor 10 times a year to manage the beaver population in Winnipeg, who is authorized to remove beave
caption: A tree felled by a beaver at Prince's Island Park in Calgary.
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