Badass beavers
April 7 is International Beaver Day - find out why some farmers hate the busy rodents, and what a teen pop star has to do with beavers.
Honoring 'nature's engineer'
Beavers are shy creatures - and in North America, the population has shrunk to 10 percent of what it was before Europeans came to the "New World." It's a rare sight to catch beavers at work in the wild.
Heroes of the wetlands
There are two species: the North American beaver and the Eurasian beaver. Both build dams as protection from predators. In doing so, they create wetlands, swamp-like areas with shallow brooks and ponds that harbor rich biodiversity. Beavers don't actually live in the dams - their homes are called lodges - but they defend them vigorously.
Busy beavers
Beavers use their large front teeth to fell trees, with which they build dams. But the ponds created by these dams contribute to global warming. Organic material ends up in the bottom of ponds, where a lack of oxygen "leads to anaerobic decomposition, which generates methane," biochemist Colin Whitfield told DW. Although it's a relatively small amount, compared to other greenhouse gas emissions.
Urban wildlife
Expanding urban areas lead to more beavers in cities or suburbs, which can cause conflict with humans. Beaver dams and lodges have been sighted in Chicago's Lincoln Park or in Napa Valley, in California's wine country. This beaver in Canada's Quebec province braved the streets for some building material.
Farmers' enemy
This conflict is even pointed in populated countrysides. In Germany, a farmers' association has asked for permission to hunt the protected rodents. The farmers say that the beavers cause damage worth millions of euros by flooding their fields, meadows and basements.
Famous beavers
In Germany, the most famous of its kind is probably the orange Obi beaver, a mascot for the chain of Obi hardware stores. In other parts of the world, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver from the Narnia movies - based on the children's books by C.S. Lewis - may be more well-known. The pair of talking rodents saves the four child protagonists from grave danger.
Justin ... Beaver?
How is Justin Bieber related to beavers? It's all in a name. The German word for beaver is "Biber," which is pronounced exactly as Justin's last name. That, however, is where the similarities end - beavers are much cuter than Bieber.