Bucky the Beaver

Hi, kids! I’m Bucky the beaver. North American beavers like me are found in wetlands across Canada and the United States. If we can’t find a suitable habitat, we will make our own. God has given us strong teeth that allow us to gnaw down trees. We then use these trees and branches to engineer dams. These dams, which are made of mud, logs, and branches, will block a river or stream, turning the surrounding field or forest area into a pond.

We also construct beaver homes called lodges. Like dams, these are made of mud and branches. We make these lodges in the middle of the pond, with submerged entrances so you can only get into the lodge by swimming underwater. It’s a cozy home for beaver parents, older siblings, and babies (called kits).

Our teeth aren’t white like most teeth. They are orange on the outside because, instead of calcium, they have iron in them to make them harder than most teeth. Folds of skin cover our ears and nostrils to block out water. We also have a special pair of fur-lined lips that close behind our big front teeth. This allows us to gnaw on wood underwater without swallowing water or drowning. We have webbed back feet to help us navigate underwater and our massive, flat tail helps us steer. God has designed us well for our aquatic environment.

Beavers like me belong to the beaver kind, created on Day Six of Creation Week. The beaver kind includes two species that are alive today, as well as two species of giant beavers that have gone extinct. During the Ice Age that followed the Flood, these giant beaver species were much larger than today’s beavers—some were seven feet long! After the Ice Age, these giant beavers went extinct along with other Ice Age mammals like mammoths, mastodons, and saber-toothed cats. But God put a lot of variety into our DNA and gave us excellent building skills so we can survive in different environments and can escape from most predators by swimming into our lodges.

Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Castoridae
Genus/Species: Castor canadensis
Size: Head and body; 23–39 inches; tail 7.75—12 inches long
Weight: 60 lbs
Diet: Buds, leaves, twigs and the soft layer beneath bark
Habitat: Wetlands throughout North America

Verse

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2)

Apologetics Focus

Beavers are famous for two things: their big front teeth and their incredible engineering skills. As they bring down trees and fashion their dams, they radically change the landscape to make their homes. This reminds us of what Jesus said before his death and Resurrection. He said he was going to prepare a place for us. And we know this is what he’s doing because he proved his words are true by rising from the dead.

But how do we know Jesus really rose from the dead? Because the Bible tells us and we can trust the Bible! And the Bible tells us that Jesus wasn’t just seen once by one or two people. He was seen by many people, many times!

• Jesus appeared to over 500 people! (1 Corinthians 15:6) These included his disciples (his closest friends; e.g., John 20:19–23), other followers (e.g., Luke 24:13–35), and many of the women who had followed him during his ministry (e.g,. John 20:18).
• Jesus’ disciple Thomas, who did not believe Jesus rose from the dead, chose to believe after he saw and talked with Jesus. He even looked at Jesus’ hands and side and saw the scars from the nails that put Jesus on the Cross (John 20:24–29).
• The disciples watched as Jesus went up to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9). He promised someday he would come back for us (John 14:3)! But, until he does, he’s preparing a place for us (John 14:2), interceding for us (that means he is the bridge between us and God; Hebrews 7:25), and protecting, growing, and caring for his church.

Jesus really did rise from the dead!

Learn More

• Beaver
• Giant Beaver