If you are an advocate for species equality or deeply appreciate the contributions of the beaver towards the development of Canada, you may find Senator Nicole Eaton’s statements offensive. Her comments were seemingly adapted from George Orwell’s Animal Farm: all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. In this case, she meant the polar bear. Her infatuation with the white carnivores of the North led her to publically mock the beaver, which has been a national symbol since the early days of Canada to demand that we adopt the polar bear as our symbol instead.
Our insightful senator condescendingly pointed out that the beaver was merely a “dentally defective rodent.” This unsupported claim is not scientifically correct, nor is it emotionally acceptable.
First of all, according to the theory of evolution, Mother Nature never encouraged the existence of useless, let alone defective, biological traits because natural selection, the undisputable mechanism of nature, works against it. In fact, the beaver’s powerful front tooth is an important survival tool with which it cuts and chews wood for food and builds dams and lodges. The so-called dental defection is actually a piece of art, a result of Mother Nature’s deliberation, which is no less impressive than the snowy fur of the polar bear. Second, let’s be honest: without the presence of the lucrative trade in beaver pelts, the early money-driven European settlers might not have bothered to settle in and explore this cold land that has since become the modern and beautiful society that we enjoy and cherish today.
In contrast to her merciless disdain for the beaver, Eaton admiringly referred to the polar bear as “Canada’s most majestic and splendid mammal.” Unfortunately, her sentiment doesn’t resonate with me at all. The truth is, whenever I think about polar bears, only two images come to mind: either the image of a polar bear tearing a vulnerable animal apart, or one of a bear standing on a small piece of floating ice surrounded by the vast ocean, lonely and hopeless in the face of climate change. Neither projects a desirable image of Canada, unless the senator, at the pinnacle of her political career, has a secret conviction for Canada to take over the world.
Personally, I find the beaver cute and harmless; it seems to perfectly fit Canadians’ image of being friendly and approachable peacekeepers. I also marvel at the beaver’s building ability, its commitment to its family, and its resistance to the harsh climate, with its otherwise smooth fur disturbed by the penetrating wintery wind, its robust body and vigilant senses.
Let the polar bear continue to swim freely in our frigid Arctic. There is no reason to reconsider our national animal, as the affection we Canadians feel for the buck-toothed builders is here to stay.
