The Beaver: Its Important Role In Canada’s History

The beaver, a large, semiaquatic rodent, has played a significant role in Canada’s history. It may seem unusual for a country to have a rodent as its national animal. However, the beaver’s influence predates Canada’s formation and even the arrival of European settlers. With its historical relevance, this unique creature was officially recognized as Canada’s national animal on March 24, 1975.

What Is a Beaver?

There are two different species of beaver: the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). The two species differ somewhat in skull and tail shape and fur colour. We will discuss the brown-furred North American species here.

Beavers, weighing up to 50 kg, are the largest rodents in Canada and the second largest in the world today after capybaras, native to Central and South America. Their distinctive appearance, with thick, dark brown fur, protruding front teeth, and front feet like hands for grasping things, along with their webbed back feet for swimming, make them a truly fascinating species. Their broad, flat tails are used as rudders when swimming and for making a loud, slapping noise on the water’s surface as a warning of danger.

Beavers live in freshwater habitats such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. They are herbivorous, meaning they eat tree bark, aquatic plants, and various grasses. They live as a family unit: males, females, and offspring. Beavers are territorial and mark their territories much like domesticated dogs and cats do.

Dams and Lodges

Beavers are builders; trees are their materials, and, for the most part, their teeth, which continue growing throughout their lives, are their tools. They can fall a 15 cm diameter tree in less than 50 minutes. A thicker tree will take longer, but with patience and persistence, it will also come down.

They use the logs to build dams to stop water flow in rivers, streams, and lakes. The dams create tranquil ponds where they can build their lodges, which protect them from the elements and predators.

Beavers and the Indigenous Peoples of Canada

Indigenous peoples of the past and even today are very spiritual as opposed to religious. They strive to be in tune with nature and the world around them. They respect everything in nature and consider everything in nature to have a purpose and a value. And so it is with the beaver.

On a more practical note, the Indigenous peoples recognized the beaver’s importance to their day-to-day survival long before European explorers and later settlers arrived. They used their fur and hides to make clothing and boots to keep them warm through the long, harsh winters. The meat supplied them with a readily available food source; they even used the bones to make tools. The beaver satisfied many of the needs of the Indigenous peoples.

The Fur Trade and Canada

The fur trade, driven by the beaver’s prized pelts, was instrumental in Canada’s development as a country. The fashion trend of the time in Europe is responsible for the fur trade in the New World. Europeans of stature liked to dress the part, and nothing shouted importance like fur. This idea of status is not true today for obvious reasons, but it was true for many centuries. Peasants of the time recognized the symbolism of a living creature giving its very life to adorn aristocracy. More often than not, the creature of choice was the beaver. To put it bluntly, a dead beaver on your head was a sign of importance.

The fur trade in the area, now Canada, began as early as the 1500s, with French explorers and the Dutch and English to follow. Initially, Indigenous peoples trapped the animals and traded the valuable fur pelts to the French explorers for worthless trinkets. After some generations, the Métis, a French word for people of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry, took over the commercial trapping, leaving the Indigenous peoples to trap only for their personal needs.

The two most important and powerful fur trading companies of the time were the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company. The demand for furs in the Old World was significant enough to keep both companies thriving. It allowed the Métis trappers to make a good living through competition. However, the immense popularity of fur did not last forever, as other materials, such as silk, became popular for hats and other clothing items. The Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company merged in 1821 under the name of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

The fur trade was beginning to wind down compared to what it was. Still, it had served the purpose of developing Canada on its way to becoming a country. The population of the New World had increased significantly by those searching for the wealth associated with the fur trade.

The Fur Trade Today and KFC

It’s interesting to consider what might have been the driving force behind the development of Canada if today’s idea of animal rights were popular at that time. There may not even be a Canada today.

As recently as the beginning of this century, fur coats and other accessories were still a thing. But no more. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and other animal rights organizations have rallied against animal abuse and promoted animal rights relentlessly. They have exposed everything from the cruelty of killing animals for no reason other than fashion to the terrible living conditions of chickens before they are slaughtered for KFC. They have gone from being so-called weirdos fighting for a cause that almost no one cared about to a driving force that slowly but surely influenced the collective consciousness of the general public. And good for them!

Modern-Day Symbolism of the Beaver

Whether we like it or not, the giant rat known as the beaver symbolizes Canada and Canadians in many ways. In some ways, the symbolization is derogatory, in some ways flattering, but mostly, it’s just a silly caricature. However, it’s a symbol we’ve embraced and made our own, reflecting our unique national identity.

The beaver is a common motif in Canadian art, literature, and popular culture, often representing hard work, resilience, and resourcefulness. It’s also a popular mascot for Canadian sports teams and a symbol of national pride.

Political cartoonists use the beaver almost exclusively when comparing Canada to other countries, especially the United States. They portray us as friendly but relatively weak as a country. After all, our big brother, the United States of America, is a powerful ally that provides military protection. While this comparison may diminish Canada’s sovereignty, it also reflects our unique position in the world as a peaceful and cooperative nation.

However, we also do get some respect. A few adages about beavers and Canadians ring true if you feel it’s necessary to judge a country’s people as one. “Beaver intellect” refers to a way of thinking that is slow and honest. Canadians, in general, are considered to be honest. “As busy as a beaver” also refers to Canadians. Beavers are always busy chewing trees, constructing dams, or building lodges. Canadians also live in a fast culture. And lastly is the verb “to beaver”, which I had never heard before researching for this article. It means working with great effort, which is rather vague but could be considered positive.

Respect for the Canadian Beaver

There are many ways that the Government of Canada, Corporate Canada, and even Canadian citizens pay tribute to the beaver. Canada Post issued the pictorial stamp with the image of a beaver known as the “Three-Penny Beaver” in 1951. It was the first stamp in the world which did not feature a monarch or head of state. The beaver has appeared on the back of the Canadian nickel (five-cent piece) issued by the Royal Canadian Mint since 1937. As mentioned above, under Prime Minister Joe Clark, the Canadian House of Commons declared the beaver Canada’s national animal in 1975. Parks Canada includes the beaver in its logo.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, the oldest corporation in Canada and one of the oldest in the world, includes the beaver on its coat of arms. Roots Canada, a famous Canadian apparel company, designed and supplied various clothing to Canadian athletes in the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, and the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Roots Canada also has a beave in its logo. And as a bit of silliness, Bell Canada’s advertisements between 2005 and 2008 included two beaver characters, Frank and Gordon.

So there is everything you wanted to know about the Canadian beaver and even a few things that no one cares about but some might find mildly fascinating.

The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.

Vocabulary

• semiaquatic – adjective; living partly on land and partly in water
• predate – transitive verb; exist or occur at a date earlier than; before something else in time
• relevance – noun; bearing on or having reference to the matter at hand; important to the current situation
• distinctive – adjective; the fact of being different; different from something else
• fall – verb; to cause to fall or bring down a tree (in this context)
• tranquil – adjective; calm, serene, unruffled; calm and quiet
• Indigenous peoples – noun; of, pertaining to, or concerned with the aboriginal inhabitants of a region; the original people of a country
• driven by – verb; having as the chief reason or determinant the thing specified; the main cause
• pelt – noun; the dressed or undressed skin of a fur-bearing mammal with hair, wool, etc. still on; a beaver skin including the fur (in this context)
• instrumental – adjective; serving as an instrument or means; important to or a cause of
• symbolism – noun; the use of symbols to represent ideas; something to represent something else
• aristocracy – noun; the highest class in society; the nobility; the rich and ruling class
• bluntly – adverb; direct, uncompromising, outspoken; telling it like it is without worrying about how people will react
• trinket – noun; small ornament or piece of jewellery etc., esp. having little worth or value; shiny, fake jewellery
• rally against – verb; to bring or come together to oppose for concentrated action; to organize opposition to a situation
• relentlessly – adverb; unrelenting; insistent and uncompromising; strongly protesting without giving up
• caricature – noun; a comic representation of a person by exaggeration of characteristic traits; a humorous picture of a person or situation
• motif – noun; a distinctive feature or dominant idea in artistic or literary composition; a common theme in representing Canada (in this context)
• resilience – noun; (of a person) readily recovering from shock, depression, etc.; being adaptable to change
• adages – noun; a traditional maxim, a proverb; an old saying that many people would know

Comprehension Questions

1. What is the national animal of Canada?
   (a) a rat, (b) a muskrat, (c) an otter, or (d) a beaver
2. How many different species of beaver are there?
   (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, or (d) four
3. Is the beaver the largest rodent in the world?
   Yes or No
4. Do beaver use their front feet like hands?
   Yes or No
5. Are beaver carnivores or herbivores?
6. Do beavers’ teeth continue growing throughout their life?
   Yes or No
7. Does a human’s teeth continue growing throughout their life?
   Yes or No
8. What did the French explorers give to Indigenous peoples for the furs?
   (a) horses, (b) canoes, (c) trinkets, or (d) food
9. In what year did the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company merge?
   (a) 1721, (b) 1821, (c) 1921, or (d) 2021
10. Which Canadian coin has had an image of the beaver on the back since 1937?
    (a) the penny (1-cent piece), (b) the nickel (5-cent piece), (c) the dime (10-cent piece), or (d) the quarter (25-cent piece)

Answers

Resources

• Wikipedia – Beaver

And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment

I had some trouble finding a song to go with the content of this post. Apparently, no one has recorded a pop or rock song about a beaver. All I could find was silly children’s songs. But there is a very famous song about muskrats, which are very similar to beavers. So, without further ado, here is Captain & Tennille singing their signature song, “Muskrat Love”. Come on! You know you like it.

Lyrics

"Muskrat Love"
Recorded by Captain & Tennille (1976)
Written by Willis Alan Ramsey

Muskrat, muskrat, candle light
Doin' the town and
Doin' it right in the evenin'
It's pretty pleasin'

Muskrat Suzie, Muskrat Sam
Do the jitterbug at a muskrat land
And they shimmy
Sam is so skinny

And they whirl and they twirl and they tango
Singin' and jinglin' a jangle
Float like the heavens above
Looks like muskrat love

Nibblin' on bacon, chewin' on cheese
Sam says to Suzie
"Honey, would you please be my Mrs.?"
Suzie says yes with her kisses

Now, he's ticklin' her fancy
Rubbin' her toes, muzzle to muzzle
Now anything goes as they wriggle
Sue starts to giggle

And they whirl and they twirl and they tango
Singin' and jinglin' a jangle
Floatin' like the heavens above
Looks like muskrat love

And they whirl and they twirl and they tango
Singin' and jinglin' a jangle
Floatin' like the heavens above
Looks like muskrat love

Do, do-do, do, do
Do, do-do, do
Do, do-do, do do
Do, do-do, do
Do, do-do, do do
Do, do-do, do
Do, do-do, do do
Do, do-do, do