In this episode, Explore host David McGuffin interviews Glynnis Hood, a world-renowned beaver expert. Hood is also a professor emerita of ecology at the University of Alberta and an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan. This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the beaver as Canada’s national animal, which McGuffin and Hood discuss, along with the iconic animal’s 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.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 <a href="https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-dam-the-myth-the-legend-50-years-of-the-beaver/">Canadian Geographic</a> feature by Brian Banks.00:00 Celebrating 50 years of the beaver as Canada's national animal00:22 The beaver's role in Canadian history and Indigenous culture00:58 Personal beaver encounters and observations01:51 Introduction to beaver expert Glynnis Hood05:32 The beaver's comeback story07:32 Beaver population and historical impact16:53 Beaver's ecological engineering and climate impact21:58 Beavers and wildfire resilience24:30 Epic beaver dams in Wood Buffalo National Park26:05 The impact of beavers on biodiversity28:28 Beavers in the Arctic: challenges and changes30:58 Historical context and the beavers' return32:32 Beaver dam construction techniques39:06 Beaver coexistence tools and strategies41:37 Personal encounters and reflections46:38 Conclusion and final thoughts

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