Why Are Beavers a Worthy National Animal?

December 28, 2023

Ever wonder why the beaver—of all the other cool animals in Canada—is our national animal? This author breaks it down for you.

I’ve always wondered why Canada’s national animal isn’t something cooler than a toothy rodent. No one thought of the mighty moose or yodelling loon while choosing? Yet, in their own way, beavers are a noteworthy creature, with large, flat, water-slapping tails, strong, orange teeth and luxurious fur coats—the very thing that endangered them for some ridiculous fashion statements in the past (ahem, we’re looking at you, felt top hats).

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But Castor canadensis, a.k.a. the North American beaver, is so much more than an unfortunate trinket used during the 17th-century fur trade. These semi-aquatic mammals are tenacious ecosystem engineers, majorly altering the landscape and how water moves within it with their iconic dams and canals. Since both flora and fauna depend on this life-giving liquid, the beaver’s efforts reach far beyond their own furry family.^{Sylvia Dekker}

You may think an animal that chews down all the woody vegetation in an area isn’t exactly the tree-hugging type, but thanks to their dam-building habit, beavers are oblivious environmentalists—a keystone ecological species that affect the smallest invertebrates to the largest mammals with their nocturnal industry. Plus, they provide an excellent example of efficient resource management by eating the bark off the same woody plants they use—and along with mud and rocks—build their structures.

Admittedly, beavers create dams for self-serving reasons. They need the deep water to escape predators, and they use the water as a front door because their lodge entrance is only accessible by diving under the surface. Consequently, dams transform tumbling gravel creeks into slow-moving, seeping waterways. Sluggish water allows sediments and nutrients to settle out. This improves water quality, boosts the fertility of the Earth and recharges groundwater.^{Sylvia Dekker}

Beavers also dig canals radiating out from their ponds. For animals that fumble on land but are dexterous in the water, the canals serve as roads across the beavers’ neighbourhood. Secondarily, these rivulets distribute water outwards, helping to form swathes of soggy meadows and wetlands full of diverse vegetation—places 80 per cent of all wildlife species call home and depend on.

Juvenile fish, including salmon and trout, use the gentle, cool, protected waters as nurseries. Moose, deer, wolves, turtles, frogs and other amphibians—plus a wide array of birds such as trumpeter swans and woodpeckers—depend on these places. The great blue heron and osprey nearly always choose to nest on dead-standing trees in beaver-dammed riparian expanses.^{Sylvia Dekker}

In their own timber tipping way, beavers reverse habitat loss, and they’ve even been called “restoration practitioners.” Besides the dams and canal creations, their endless chewing allows plant species to succeed in the cleared spaces.^{Sylvia Dekker}

Ultimately, the labours of our national animal can turn dry lifeless areas into vibrant, life-filled places we enjoy on our outdoor adventures. The beaver’s work supports the very wildlife I would’ve chosen as our national symbol instead. But there’s more. Some even say the beaver should be our low-tech, low-cost, highly effective climate action plan. What looks messy and disorganized to us is resilient in nature—complex and diverse areas are buffered against disruptions to nature’s rhythm.^{Sylvia Dekker}

These charming characters create and control connected flood plains which effectively slow, spread and store high-quality water and carbon. Water collects near their dams, creating ponds which, because they are deeper and circulate water through cold groundwater, can be two degrees cooler than water elsewhere. These cool pools are a good place for fish and other wildlife to chill out on hot days. Plus, evaporation of the spread-out, flooded regions acts as air conditioning.

As we’ve seen across Canada in the last several years, droughts fuel devastating wildfires. A 2020 study shows that streams without our waddling lumberjacks burn three times more intensely than those with them. Because beaver complexes are soaking wet both above and below ground, they are drought-resistant and can stay green even after four years of drought.^{Sylvia Dekker}

Ironically, even old trapper journals note that beaver meadows, ponds and streams resist wildfire. These waterlogged, ever-green spaces make excellent wildfire refuges for wildlife, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, large or small mammals and birds.

All that to say, the largest rodent in North America really is an excellent choice as the national animal. Without them, we’d burn more and see less of the wildlife I once believed would make better national animals.

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