Beaver

Beavers are large, brown animals that live in wooden lodges built on bodies of water. They were what blocked the stream running to the lake, causing it to run dry.
==Description==
:Beavers are large, heavy, bulky, brown animals with broad and flat tails, tiny black eyes, and long, yellow curved front teeth. They have sleek bodies round like a bird's egg and ears like furled leaves. Their pelts are thick and greasy. They are notably much larger and stronger than cats, and use their forepaws, strong tails, and sharp teeth to attack if provoked. With their large curved teeth, beavers can gnaw down trees and use them to build dams to create pools of water. Their dens are called lodges, built out of mounds of twigs, mud, and bark located near bodies of water. Beavers are protective of their lodges and dams and will attack if provoked.
:Beavers are excellent swimmers, capable of gliding across bodies of water without making any ripples and using their tails to help them steer. According to Dovepaw, their scent reeks of musk and fish. Tigerheart notes they almost smell like RiverClan cats. They leave their scent in the forest where they gather trees.
==Relation to Clan cats==
:Beavers are shown to be both inquisitive of cats, and also aggressive if provoked, attacking with their tails and teeth. They are able to kill a cat with their sharp front teeth. They do not block water out of malicious intent, instead, they build their dams in order to create a pool of water to build their dens off of. These dens are known as lodges. Due to this, they had unknowingly blocked water from the lake, resulting in it drying up.
===Known deaths===
This is a list of cats, ordered chronologically, who were killed by beavers.
*Rippletail
==Relation to Twolegs==
:According to Woody, Twolegs purposefully brought the beavers to block up the river. The Clan patrol notices a group of Twolegs camping near the river bed and closely observing the beavers' work with strange black tendrils. When the Clan cats successfully destroy the dam, the Twolegs emerge from their thin-pelted dens and yowl at the cats.
==History==
===In the Omen of the Stars arc===
====The Fourth Apprentice====
:Being able to see far away with her powers, Dovepaw mentions beavers to be the reason the stream has dried up, confusing her Clanmates. She tries to explain herself, but the warriors brush it off as something made up and dismiss the idea, leaving the young cat frustrated.
:At the next Gathering, Firestar brings the suggestion to send a patrol upstream to see if something is blocking the water. The idea is met by some caution by the gathered cats and scrutiny by Leopardstar, but the decision is made to send a patrol consisting of two cats from each Clan to find the water. The patrol of chosen cats consists of Lionblaze, Dovepaw, Whitetail, Sedgewhisker, Toadfoot, Tigerheart, Petalfur, and Rippletail, chosen from each of the Clans. From the edge of ShadowClan territory, they head off in search of the brown creatures that Dovepaw had seen.
:The patrol of cats encounter a loner named Woody, who tells them that the Twolegs near them worry more about the beavers than cats. The tom also explains that they are large and mean animals and is confused by Toadfoot's question about fighting them, wondering why any cat would want to. Rippletail explains their quest to the loner as Lionblaze asks him for his help. Woody tells them that they have bees in their brains, but agrees to show them where the beaver's dam is located and that once they see it, they'll change their minds about their plan to release the trapped water. The loner also reveals that the Twolegs had brought the beavers with them.
:Woody leads the patrol down the valley to the beaver den, blocking the stream. Dovepaw notes that the den is large as it is composed of large logs and mud. Petalfur and Rippletail dive in the collected water behind the structure and as they do, a pair of beavers spot them. The patrol panic and run to escape the beavers, but the two animals watch the cats from the riverbank.
:The Clan cats devise a plan to defeat the beavers. They attempt to pull the logs from the dam down and agree that if the beavers try to stop them, they will fight. However, the beavers quickly overwhelm the cats as they protect their territory. Lionblaze calls the retreat as the fighting becomes pointless. As they escape, Rippletail is attacked viciously and dies due to his wounds. Following their failure, the patrol decides to not fight the beavers again and instead try to dismantle the dam without any further casualties. 
:They enlist the help of the kittypets they had crossed paths with earlier and begin their task that night. Whitetail, Woody, and Sedgewhisker draw the beavers from their den so the other cats can begin destroying the dam. One beaver takes the bait and soon the others follow as the three cats begin leading them away. Petalfur and Toadfoot split away from the group to find a way inside the beaver's den. The two warriors discover a way in and a possible way to make the den collapse. The group works as quickly as possible to remove as many sticks and twigs to weaken the structure. However, yowling catches them all off guard as Whitetail, Sedgewhisker, and Woody appear, racing across the top of the den with the beavers lumbering behind them. After dismantling the dam, the patrol of cats return to the lake.
==See also==
*Journey to the beaver dam
*Chapter-by-chapter notes for The Fourth Apprentice
==External links==
*European beaver
==Notes and references==
de:Biberfi:Majavafr:Castornl:Beverpl:Bóbrru:Бобры
Category:Creatures