What is Canada's national animal?

The national animal of Canada is the beaver. Adopted in 1975 by an Act of Parliament, the beaver has long been a symbol of the early European settlers and traders that opened Canada's northern and western regions.

As Canada was being explored and settled by Europeans, the Continental fashion for fur hats fueled a brisk trade in beaver pelts during the late 1600s and early 1700s. In response to the success in the fur trade, the Hudson's Bay Company placed beavers on its coat of arms in 1678. Interestingly, a coin was struck to equal the value of one male beaver pelt; it became known as a buck.