Canadian beaver vs Jointed Pricklypear

Castor canadensis compared with Opuntia aurantiaca

Key Differences

• Canadian beaver is Not Evaluated while Jointed Pricklypear is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	Jointed Pricklypear
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Cactaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Opuntia
Species	Castor canadensis	Opuntia aurantiaca

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Jointed Pricklypear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	Jointed Pricklypear
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).

Jointed Pricklypear

Habitat

Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Eswatini, Jamaica, Namibia, and South Africa.

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.