True Facts: The Beaver

True Facts: The Beaver

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Posters and shirts: https://ze-true-store.myshopify.com/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/truefacts
Mike’s Video’s of Beavers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAz9RfinLIsW13Lt5TsT2Tw
Janet Pesaturo’s channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/Ouroneacrefarm133/videos

Thank you to:
Dr. Vanessa Petro, Oregon State Univ.
Dr. Peter Busher, Boston Univ.
Dr. Emily Fairfax, CSU Channel Islands
Dr. Clint Epps, Oregon State Univ.

Dr. Lyle M. Gordon, Northwestern Univ.
Mike Callahan, Beaver Institute
Bob Armstrong “Nature Bob,” Univ. of Alaska
Michael Graydon

Ben Goldfarb, author of “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter”
James St. John
Julio Lacerda
Thilo Park
Janet Pesaturo,
Winterberry Wildlife
N.Tamura
National Wildlife Research Center, Oregon Field Station
Jak Wonderly
US Forest Service Mendenhall Glacier Web Cam

CC Images:
Beaver Skull Cut: Thilo Parg / Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schaedel_Biber_Laengsschnitt_Nagezaehne_1.jpg

Palaeocastor fossor and Palaeocastor and burrow in National Museum of
Natural History: Claire H. (flickr) CC BY 2.0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeocastor#/media/File:Palaeocastor_fossor.jpg

Palaeocastor BW.jpg: Nobu Tamura CC3.0 Unported
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeocastor#/media/File:Palaeocastor_BW.jpg

Daemonelix burrow James St. John CC-BY 2.0
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daemonelix_(fossil_beaver_burrows)_(Harrison_Formation,_Middle_Miocene;_Sioux_County,_Nebraska,_USA)_4_(32674818704).jpg

Additional footage from:
Envato Elements
Shutterstock.com

Pond5.com
Alamy.com

Citations:

Aleksiuk, M. Scent-Mound Communication, Territoriality, and Population Regulation in Beaver (Castor
canadensis Kuhl), Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 49, Issue 4, 26 November 1968, Pages 759–762, 
https://doi.org/10.2307/1378741

Badyaev, A.V. Beavers: Masters of Downfall. National Wildlife, July 25, 2015.

Brazier, R.E., Puttock, A., Graham, H.A., Auster, R.E., Davies, K.H., Brown, C.M.L. Beaver: Nature’s ecosystem
engineers. WIREs Water. 2021; 8:e1494. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1494

Buech, R. R. (1984). Ontogeny and Diurnal Cycle of Fecal Reingestion in the North American Beaver
(Castor canadensis). Journal of Mammalogy, 65(2), 347–350. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381180

Gordon L.M., Cohen M.J., MacRenaris K.W., Pasteris J.D., Seda T., Joester D. Dental materials. Amorphous
intergranular phases control the properties of rodent tooth enamel. Science. 2015 Feb 13;347(6223):746-50.
doi: 10.1126/science.1258950. PMID: 25678658.

Halicioglu K, Celikoglu M, Buyuk SK, Sekerci AE, Ucar FI, Yavuz I. Three-dimensional evaluation of the mandibular
third molars’ development in unilateral crossbite patients: A cone beam computed tomography study.
Eur J Dent. 2014 Jul;8(3):389-394. doi: 10.4103/1305-7456.137653. PMID: 25202221; PMCID: PMC4144139.

Pop-Ciutrila, Ioana-Sofia & Ghinea, Razvan Ionut & Colosi, Horațiu & Ruiz-López, Javier & Pérez Gómez,
María del Mar & Paravina, Rade & Dudea, Diana. (2021). Color compatibility between dental structures and
three different types of ceramic systems. BMC Oral Health. 21. 10.1186/s12903-021-01404-7.

Morris, P.J.R., Cox, P.G. & Cobb, S.N.F. The biomechanical significance of the elongated rodent incisor root in
the mandible during incision. Sci Rep 12, 3819 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07779-z

Mott C.L., Bloomquist, C.K., and Nielsen, C.K. Seasonal, diel, and ontogenetic patterns of within-den behavior in
beavers (Castor canadensis),Mammalian Biology, Volume 76, Issue 4, 2011,Pages 436-444, ISSN 1616-5047,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2010.09.002.

Muller, G. and Watling, J. (2016) The engineering in beaver dams. River Flow 2016: Eighth International Conference
on Fluvial Hydraulics, , Saint Louis, United States. 12 – 15 Jul 2016. 7 pp.

Patenaude, F. and Bovet, J.. Self-grooming and social grooming in the North American beaver, Castor canadensis. 
Canadian Journal of Zoology. 62(9): 1872-1878. https://doi.org/10.1139/z84-273

Richard, P.B. Le déterminisme de la construction des barrages chez le Castor du Rhône. Revue d’Ecologie,
Terre et Vie, Société nationale de protection de la nature, 1967, pp.339-470. hal-03531683

Rosell, F., Bergan, F. & Parker, H. Scent-Marking in the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber) as a Means of Territory
Defense. J Chem Ecol 24, 207–219 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022524223435

Stefen, C., Habersetzer, J., and Witzel, U. Biomechanical aspects of incisor action of beavers ( Castor fiber L.) , 
Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 97, Issue 2, 23 March 2016, Pages 619–630, 
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv209

Wilsson, L. Observations and Experiments on the Ethology of the European Beaver (Castor Fiber L.).
Swedish Wildlife, Published by Swedish Sportsmen’s Association Vol. 8 Number 3.

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44 Responses

  1. zefrank1 says:

    Check out Curiosity Stream with code: ZEFRANK : http://www.curiositystream.com/zefrank

  2. Lucipher says:

    I’m a biologist and former zookeeper and I always share True Facts videos with anyone curious about animals and the natural world because it’s hilarious, well researched, factually correct and Ze Frank delivers these perfectly. Also, shoutout to Jerry!

  3. Paul B. says:

    “The hardest thing our body makes — hush now.”
    Perfect delivery with that one. Thanks for yet another entertaining and educational video!

  4. Shark Dude says:

    I can’t get over the fact that these are actually educational, these videos are funny, have jokes around every corner, and puns that come straight out of a dad convention and they still teach you things you never knew about the life on our planet. Keep up the good work Zefrank.

  5. Sassquatch says:

    Zefrank’s mom must have lived quite a life. She always has such specific advice.

  6. ej terry says:

    “Not only do beavers have to chew the crap out of their food, they have to chew the food out of their crap.”

    I’m done! That’s the best line ever!

  7. Urinstein says:

    “On land the beaver isn’t exactly graceful,
    but in water it IS exactly graceful.”
    I know there were plenty of funnier jokes in this one, but to me this is peek True Facts.

  8. Thomas deNorth says:

    Beavers absolutely controls the direction the tree falls. Plenty of beavers where I live, and 95% of the trees they fell falls towards the water. I´ve thousands of trees like that. Respect to the little critters for having better control of felling than I have.

  9. kate carew says:

    As a kid, we had neighbors move in from Canada, my father, a corporate attorney with a propensity for BAD dad jokes opted to wear a sweatshirt that said “if you’re Canadian show me your beaver” to the welcoming party.
    It had an upright beaver dressed as a mounty to cover the absolute vulgarity.
    To this day he denies it but I distinctly remember the mom explaining to me how uncomfortable she was, after my 8 year old self asked her repeatedly to show me her beaver…she finally cracked and told me what beaver was a euphemism for. I ran home and SCREAMED at my dad, and the sweatshirt was never seen again.
    He will never admit it.
    I wish I could find that sweatshirt to prove what I know to be true.

  10. Purple 42 says:

    I always called fake vanilla “Beaver butt juice” it really threw my friends for a loop and I love confusing people.
    I love that you brought up the vanilla thing.

    • Nick Gurr says:

      “Do it shid? Do it fard?”
      -beaver during mating season

    • Batabii says:

      I totally forgot that was a thing until he mentioned it.

    • Ceruleanst says:

      Beaver castoreum may still be used sometimes in scented candles, but it hasn’t been used in food since we learned to synthesize vanillin. Vanillin is the flavor molecule present in real vanilla so it isn’t any different. The spread of the “fun fact” that fake vanilla comes from beavers likely may have been encouraged by Madagascar’s vanilla industry, which has a sordid and complicated history and is very invested in the image of being the only “real” source of a plant that used to be native to Mexico.

    • RedDot says:

      *https://youtu.be/vn8WdvkmTGs*
      Finally its here YES

    • Sgt. SLaughter says:

      😆😂🤣

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