The four-foot-tall beaver sculpture was painted to commemorate the United States, little flags on each cheek flanking a bucktoothed smile.
It had stood undisturbed in a downtown Toronto park since the start of the World Cup, one of 48 beavers, Canada’s national animal, made of resin and painted to honor the countries competing in the tournament. A local business association organized the beaver display, a public art installation with an optional scavenger hunt element: Locals and visitors for the World Cup, which is holding games in Toronto, can use an app to track their progress at finding all the beavers.
Well, all but one. Under the cover of night on June 27, someone smashed the American beaver to bits.
Was its destruction in Canada, a country that has been in a protracted conflict with the United States over President Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, random or was it a message?
“I’m not surprised it got blown up, or whatever happened to it,” said Joshua Azzoli, 18, a Toronto resident, standing near the site where the American beaver once stood with a little red, white and blue soccer ball.
The beaver has since been replaced with a sign from the business association that says: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, the U.S.A. beaver has had to be permanently removed.”
Mr. Azzoli was disappointed that the beavers seem to have been dragged into the geopolitical dispute. “Not everything’s about politics,” he said.
Observing the Mexico beaver nearby, Delia Henriques, 20, noted how intricately the statues were painted and lamented the loss of a local artist’s work.
About 150 Canadian artists applied for a chance to paint one of the beavers, said Robyn Posner, a director of marketing at the Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Area, the group organizing what it has called “The Great Beaver Quest,” which has had about 9,700 players, including children.
“They seem to just love putting their arms around these beavers,” said Ms. Posner, adding that she has been delighted by the feedback from locals — some who have used it as an excuse to get outside on their office lunch breaks — as well as tourists who have met other people taking the quest.
Alyah Holmes, the artist behind the beaver representing the United States, painted it in an American soccer jersey and landscape imagery capturing iconic skylines, like the Statue of Liberty and Midwestern wheat fields.
The police said they were investigating, but Ms. Posner said it was not clear what might have motivated the vandalism. There were apparently no witnesses.
Beavers representing other countries, including Brazil, England and Iran, have been bashed, but repaired and put in more secure spots.
The installation also includes beavers representing the Indigenous, Toronto, the world, and one surprise beaver still to be unveiled. The idea came about as an echo to a public art installation in 2000 called “Moose in the City” that included 326 painted moose. The beavers will be auctioned after the World Cup and the money raised will be donated to charity.
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