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What makes Mountain Beaver so interesting?
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 | Mountain beaver are the most primitive species of rodent alive, sort of a living fossil. While their range has decreased from that known from the fossil record--probably because of geological and climactic changes primarily--very little appears to have changed morphologically.
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| Mountain beaver were used in early studies of kidney function because their primitive kidneys lack Loops of Henle and are unable to concentrate urine effectively. Other organ systems have not been well studied.
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| These are mysterious animals. While foraging can occur at any time, day or night, mountain beaver are primarily nocturnal. Most of their time is spent in underground burrows, coming out only to forage or during the short juvenile migration period when young animals leave the nest to establish their own burrow sites. They are difficult to study so have not been given adequate attention by biologists.
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| At one time it was thought that mountain beaver were colonial animals because several animals may inhabit a series of interconnected burrows. However, it is now accepted that there is little interaction between animals except for territorial behavior within burrows. Each animal has its own burrow nest area which is connected to tunnels with openings to the outside. It is difficult to determine how many animals inhabit a burrow system since an area riddled with holes may contain only a few animals. It has however been well documented that many other species are often found in mt. beaver burrows. A good example of this is seen in a photo of a bushy-tailed woodrat was found sleeping in Aplodontia burrow.
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| Mountain beaver do not make good pet material. They are unpredictable and can be crotchety, vicious animals and have never been domesticated. When disturbed, they can secrete a thick material from their eyes which has been misinterpreted as tears. While they have been kept successfully in captivity for some time, it is not uncommon for them to die there unexpectedly without obvious reason.
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| Most people don't know mt. beaver exist and some even continue to question that fact it seems even after they've heard about them. For a humorous look at what it can be like to search for a mt. beaver, check out this poem!
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| Did you know the largest flea in the world, Hystricopsylla schefferi, is only known from collections made from mountain beaver and their burrows, and grows to 9 mm (over 1/3 inch!) in length? The coevolution of these two organisms has never been investigated but, given the ancient lineage of mountain beaver, may provide some interesting insights to both. For a fascinating discussion on this subject and the danger of coextinction, check out this article in Flea News (vol. 49, pg 566-67).There's a similar discussion in the Journal of Medical Entomology (Vol. 31, no. 6). (More flea information here)
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