The four-foot-tall beaver sculpture was painted to commemorate the United States, little flags on each cheek flanking a bucktoothed smile.<\/p>\n
It had stood undisturbed in a downtown Toronto park since the start of the World Cup, one of 48 beavers, Canada\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Well, all but one. Under the cover of night on June 27, someone smashed the American beaver to bits.<\/p>\n
Was its destruction in Canada, a country that has been in a protracted conflict with the United States over President Trump\u2019s tariffs and annexation threats, random or was it a message?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised it got blown up, or whatever happened to it,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The beaver has since been replaced with a sign from the business association that says: \u201cDue to circumstances beyond our control, the U.S.A. beaver has had to be permanently removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Azzoli was disappointed that the beavers seem to have been dragged into the geopolitical dispute. \u201cNot everything\u2019s about politics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Observing the Mexico beaver nearby, Delia Henriques, 20, noted how intricately the statues were painted and lamented the loss of a local artist\u2019s work.<\/p>\n