In this episode, Explore host David McGuffin is joined by Glynnis Hood, one of the world's leading beaver experts, to mark the 50th anniversary of the beaver as Canada’s national animal. This conversation focuses on this iconic Canadian animals significance in our country’s history. Hood shares her insights into the beaver's resilience, ability to modify landscapes, role as a keystone species, and its substantial impact on its environment. They delve into the beaver's history, from its near extinction to its current resurgence. They highlight the beaver’s role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating water systems, and potentially mitigating climate change and wildfires. 

The episode also explores human and beaver conflicts and the coexistence strategies that emphasize the beaver's crucial role in shaping Canada’s environment.

Glynnis Hood is professor emerita of environmental science at the University of Alberta and an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

Hood’s research interests include aquatic ecology, biology, and human-wildlife interactions. For more than 20 years, Hood has integrated her research on beaver ecology with more focused studies of beaver management to enhance human-wildlife coexistence. She is the author of Semi-aquatic Mammals: Ecology and Biology and The Beaver Manifesto: Conservation, Conflict, and the Future of Wetlands, which will be released in its second edition this fall. Her first children's book is A Cabin Christmas.

Learn more about the beaver in this recent Canadian Geographic feature by Brian Banks.

00:00 Celebrating 50 years of the beaver as Canada's national animal

00:22 The beaver's role in Canadian history and Indigenous culture

00:58 Personal beaver encounters and observations

01:51 Introduction to beaver expert Glynnis Hood

05:32 The beaver's comeback story

07:32 Beaver population and historical impact

16:53 Beaver's ecological engineering and climate impact

21:58 Beavers and wildfire resilience

24:30 Epic beaver dams in Wood Buffalo National Park

26:05 The impact of beavers on biodiversity

28:28 Beavers in the Arctic: challenges and changes

30:58 Historical context and the beavers' return

32:32 Beaver dam construction techniques

39:06 Beaver coexistence tools and strategies

41:37 Personal encounters and reflections

46:38 Conclusion and final thoughts