The Beaver

How could a nation choose a large rodent as a national symbol?

The quest for religious and political freedom is often cited as the reasons Europeans colonized North America, but natural resources were another major draw. These included whales, vast schools of cod, and towering lodgepole pines used for ship's masts. But the resource that lured explorers across the continent was really the beaver.

Why did adventurers cross oceans in their quest for this big rodent? You can find the answer and read more about the beaver at this location;

http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/beaver.html

Sir Sandford Fleming assured the beaver a position as a true National Symbol when he featured it on the first Canadian postage stamp - the "Three Penny Beaver" of 1851.