How Beavers Made America
How a single species drove colonization, global trade, the War of 1812, and the expansion into the West.
If you had wandered across North America several thousand years ago, you might have crossed paths with a creature that looked like it belonged in The Princess Bride — a beaver the size of a black bear. Yes, you read that correctly. Giant beavers once roamed North America, Asia, and Europe, sharing the landscape with creatures like saber-toothed tigers. …