Canadian beaver vs sika deer

Castor canadensis compared with Cervus nippon

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	sika deer
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Cervidae (Deer)
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Cervus (True Deer)
Species	Castor canadensis	Cervus nippon

Evolutionary Relationship

Canadian beaver and sika deer share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

sika deer

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	sika deer
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).

sika deer

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Azerbaijan, Japan, Vietnam), Europe (22 countries), North America (United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand).

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.

sika deer

sika deer (Cervus nippon) is classified as Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List. Not yet evaluated against IUCN Red List criteria. Conservation status remains to be determined.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 14 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States