"A CANADIAN FAMILY"

Beaver (North American) - 9 Photos

The beaver is Canada's National Animal and appears on the nickel.

One may ask why Canada would choose a rodent to represent our country. Past history aside, there are many endearing attributes which could nominate the beaver & family members as "Canada's First Family". 

Beavers are hard working, amazing engineers, family oriented and know how to survive & thrive in a cold Canadian winter. With regard to their engineering skills, a research study uncovered that beavers use various construction techniques creating semi-permeable dams able to withstand large water flow volumes. Their use of wood, stones & mud is much like our bricks & mortar construction.

And, of course, there is always downtime to relax, grab a meal with family members & even on the odd occasion, have a quick surf in the river's rapids.

Unfortunately, I don't have a recent photo of a surfing beaver but I have been a witness to such activity. Also, I did meet a women who told me that once while she had been fishing with her husband on the shores of the Bow River, had seen a beaver go sailing through nearby rapids, get out and walk behind her. Needless to say, she had been a little nervous being in such close proximity but then the beaver re-entered the water, went through the same rapids, got out and repeated the exercise several times more. Beavers have no trouble navigating rapids and swimming into calmer waters so there was no need for exiting the river. Beaver surfing - who needs special equipment when it's all built in.

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