Never say never: borrowed beaver returns to B.C. regional district

CHILLIWACK, B.C. — Justin Beaver is home again, and the tale of the stolen taxidermied teaching tool has even worked to the benefit of educators in British Columbia.

The Fraser Valley Regional District says in a news release that the 10-kilogram stuffed beaver was recently turned into a local government office, and no questions were asked about where the animal had been.

Justin Beaver disappeared from a picnic table last week when naturalists were using him to teach a Grade 1 class about wetlands in a Fraser Valley park, east of Vancouver.

Regional district spokeswoman Jennifer Kinneman says the brief loss of the borrowed beaver also has a silver lining.

A couple on Vancouver Island heard about the disappearance and donated their own stuffed beaver to the educational program.

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The new addition has been named Sidney in honour of his hometown.

Kinneman previously said Justin Beaver has been the star attraction with visiting youngsters for about a decade.

The juvenile beaver was found dead in another of the district’s parks and because he was such a healthy specimen, Kinneman said staff realized they could use him to give children a hands-on sense of the size and features of a semi-aquatic rodent.

“They’re always very interested in the tail,” she said.

The Canadian Press