Beaver

Rachel Poliquin’s Beaver explores the fascinating history of this small, often-overlooked, yet important animal and examines why the beaver has been hunted throughout the years, as well as looks at the unique way in which beavers form their societies. With their unique scaly tail, chainsaw teeth, powerful scent and astonishing architectural prowess, beavers are unlike any other creature in the world. Not surprisingly, the beaver has played a fascinating role in human history. Beaver explores the lives and characteristics of these exceptional creatures, from their soft fur to their architecture and their ecological transformations, revealing beavers to be survivors capable of withstanding ice ages, major droughts and predators, except one: humans. Widely hunted for their fur, beavers were a driving force behind the colonization of North America and remain Canada’s national symbol today. Castoreum, the pungent musk secreted by beavers, was long used in medicine and has been an ingredient in perfumery and food production. From depictions of beavers in the fables of Aesop and Native American mythology to contemporary environmental politics, Rachel Poliquin investigates the facts and fictions of beaver chain gangs, beaver-flavoured ice cream and South America’s ever-growing beaver population. This beautifully illustrated book, filled with the strange history and improbable tales of the beaver, will delight all readers.