(reads article, groans) The beaver is our symbol because the country was founde on the fur trade. Besides, I like that our national symbol is a big buck-toothed rodent. While everyone else is standing around looking fierce we're just quietly building things. Destructive? Fuck it, the beaver was here first. We're encroaching on their territory, not the other way around.
I love polar bears, but they're going extinct. Besides, Russia has a bear as its symbol already.
A leader of the federal Liberal Party suggested the party adopt the puffin as its symbol.