Canada's National Animal Symbol

8 Canada’s National Animal Symbol Symbols are shortcuts. Advertising and marketing people love them because of their simplicity and power. Most nations adopt symbols to represent certain aspects of their country. A national flag is, of course, the most easily recognized symbol for a country. However, animals, flowers, significant landmarks and even historic buildings or structures can serve as country symbols too. In 1975, Canada declared the beaver a symbol of the sovereignty of Canada. There are numerous reasons for this choice. The most significant one is that Canada's early history and development is closely tied to this hard-working little animal. When the first European explorers arrived on Canada's shores, they soon learned that the native people living there hunted and trapped beavers as a primary source of food, leather and fur for clothing.

The first Europeans took some shiny beaver pelts (or processed beaver fur) back to Europe where the rich people quickly fell in love with a new kind of hat that was being manufactured using beaver pelts. Soon, all over Europe, everyone wanted one of these fashionable beaver hats. An explosion of discovery occurred as the Europeans made alliances with the various indigenous nations in Canada. They began to travel deep into the Canadian wilderness in search of beaver pelts. Great fur trading posts were established thousands of kilometres deep into the unknown parts of Canada. Battles were fought over the rights to trade beaver pelts in Canada's early years. Within two hundred years, almost all of the beavers had been wiped out because of this excessive trading of beaver pelts. But, beavers have one trait that Canadians found appealing-the beaver does not give up easily. They are hardy and strong, hard-working and tireless. These are the traits that allowed beavers to make an incredible comeback. There are many reasons for Canada's love affair with the beaver. The enduring characteristics of loyalty, hard work and honesty are all high on that list, making the beaver a natural choice for a national symbol, and an icon for Canadians everywhere.