9 Animal Species That Were Once Bigger Than Humans

5. Beavers

The beaver is a Canadian symbol. These semi-aquatic rodents are known for their flat tails, buck teeth, and impressive dams. They have also been previously harvested for their pelts, and their €˜tails€™ are considered a delicious Canadian pastry. These days, Beaver populations in North America are much lower than they used to be, as contact with humans has really hurt their numbers. Apart from the aforementioned pelts, their dams and harvesting of trees has made it difficult for humans to use some land where beavers live. Despite being the second largest rodent species, they have still been relatively easy for humans to hunt. However, considering how big beavers used to be, today€™s beaver hunters have it easy. The Giant Beaver measured up to 7 feet and weighed up to 275lbs. However, this giant had few similarities with its modern descendants. Modern beavers have evolved teeth for gnawing through wood, which is something that the giants didn€™t have. As a result, these giants might not have even built dams. They would€™ve been just another giant rodent living on earth at that time. This creature might€™ve come across early humans, and that might€™ve been a big reason why they€™re extinct. Scientists believe that since it has a proportionally smaller brain than its modern descendant, it might not have been able to properly interact with its environment, and thus was not capable of surviving the rise of a new apex predator.