A trapper is someone who catches wild animals using traps. For hundreds of years, trappers worked in forests and wilderness areas, setting clever devices that would capture animals like beavers, foxes, and muskrats without the trapper having to be there. They sold the animal furs to people who made them into warm coats, hats, and blankets.

In early American history, trappers were rugged adventurers who lived in remote wilderness areas, often far from towns and cities. Famous trappers like Jim Bridger and Jedediah Smith explored vast territories in the Rocky Mountains during the 1800s, discovering mountain passes and rivers that nobody from the eastern United States knew existed. These mountain men could survive harsh winters, navigate by landmarks, and trade with Native American tribes.

Today, some people still work as trappers, though it's far less common than it once was. Modern trappers might help control animal populations or protect property from damage, and they follow strict regulations about which animals they can trap and when. The word can also describe the historical profession: when you read about the fur trappers who explored the American West, you're learning about people whose knowledge of the wilderness helped open new territories to settlement and trade.