Canadian beaver vs Clustered Dock

Castor canadensis compared with Rumex conglomeratus

Key Differences

Canadian beaver is Not Evaluated while Clustered Dock is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	Clustered Dock
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Polygonaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Rumex
Species	Castor canadensis	Rumex conglomeratus

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Clustered Dock

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	Clustered Dock
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).

Clustered Dock

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (4 countries), Europe (7 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (5 countries).

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.

Clustered Dock

Rumex conglomeratus, the clustered dock, is a perennial herb in the family Polygonaceae native to the Palearctic region, widely distributed across Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. It has been naturalized on most other continents, particularly in temperate regions of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand, where it grows as a common weed of disturbed ground, roadsides, waste places, moist meadows, streambanks, and field margins. The plant grows to 0.4–1.2 m tall, with large basal leaves and erect branching stems bearing small reddish-green flowers arranged in dense whorled clusters along the branches—giving rise to the common name clustered dock. Fruits have three tubercles that aid in identification. Like other docks, it is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, including temporarily waterlogged sites. Rumex conglomeratus is edible, with young leaves used historically as pot herbs. The abundant seed production of docks makes them persistent weeds in agricultural and horticultural settings. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its extremely wide distribution and high abundance.