Pffft, clearly anyone with some education in fauna knows that the beavers in Salem are baby Wishpoosh'es. Nobody questioned that they are as big as a man? The Wishpoosh'es lay thousand of eggs that are carried with the rivers down to the ocean, where the eggs hatch in contact with the salt waters. The beavers then move inland along the rivers and lakes towards the darkness where they transform into fully grown Wishpoosh'es where the cycle continues. The population is nowhere near endangered unless considerable amount of hunting parties move into the darkness.
They are creatures of witches I say. Creatures that have long consumed the natural beaver population in Salem. These justice warriors that kills people for beaver hunting is nothing but uneducated vigilantes or witch sympathizers; to the stocks with them!