Canadian beaver vs Cape Pigweed

Castor canadensis compared with Amaranthus capensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	Cape Pigweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Amaranthus
Species	Castor canadensis	Amaranthus capensis

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Cape Pigweed

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	Cape Pigweed
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	15 years	—
Average Length	1.0 m	—
Average Weight	25.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Canadian beaver

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (15 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Argentina, Chile).

Cape Pigweed

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

Canadian beaver

The largest rodent in North America, Canadian beavers weigh up to 32 kg and are master ecosystem engineers inhabiting rivers, lakes, and wetlands across Canada and the northern United States. By felling trees and constructing dams up to hundreds of meters long, beavers create ponds that provide habitat for hundreds of species. Their lodges and canals transform entire watersheds. Once nearly hunted to extinction for their fur, beaver populations have recovered strongly.

Cape Pigweed

The Cape Pigweed (Amaranthus capensis) is a species in the genus Amaranthus. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom