Urban Animals - Art Gallery of Alberta

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program Animal Studies: Beaver continued Beavers have been trapped for milennia and this continues to the present day. Once the early European explorers realized that Canada was not the spice-rich Orient, the main mercantile attraction was the beaver, then a population numbering in the millions. In the late 1600s and early 1700s the fashion of the day demanded fur top-hats, which were produced from beaver pelts as the most valuable part of the beaver is its inner fur whose many minute barbs make it excellent for felting. The trade in beaver pelts proved so lucrative that the Hudson’s Bay Company honoured the animal by putting it on the shield of its coat of arms in 1678, as seen at right. By the mid-19th century the beaver was close to extinction. There were an estimated six million beavers in Canada before the start of the fur trade. During the trade’s peak 100,000 pelts were being shipped to Europe each year. Eventually, however, the fur trade declined as Europeans changed their fashion sense, coming to appreciate silk hats instead, and the demand for beaver pelts all but disappeared. Beaver testicles and castoreum, a bitter-tasting secretion contained in the castor sacs of male and female beavers, were also articles of trade. These were used in traditional medicines and for the production of castoreum, which was used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic. Castoreum also continues to be used in perfume production. European beavers were eventually hunted nearly to extinction in part for the production of castoreum. The importance of the Beaver in the development of Canada through the fur trade led to its official designation as the national animal in 1975. The beaver is also depicted on the Canadian five-cent piece and was on the first pictorial postage stamp issued in the Canadian colonies in 1849. AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479 youraga.ca
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program Animal Studies: Moose The moose (North America) or European elk (Europe) is the largest living species in the deer family. The word moose is a borrowing from one Algonquian language, with the possible meaning of ‘stripping off’. The word moose first entered the English language in 1606 with Captain Thomas Hanham’s Mus. European rock drawings and cave paintings reveal that moose have been hunted since the Stone Age. Excavations in Sweden have yeilded elk antlers from 6,000 B.C. Jason Carter The Moose, 2012 Acrylic on canvas Collection of the artist In North America the moose range includes almost all of Canada, most of central and western Alaska, and much of the eastern United States. Isolated moose populations have been verified as far south as the mountains of Utah and Colorado. In Europe moose are found in large numbers throughout the Eastern European nations of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States. They are also widespread in Russia and can be found in Poland, Belarus and the Czech Republic. One of the most distinguishing features of the moose are its antlers. The male’s antlers grow as cylindrical beams projecting on each side of the head at right angles to the midline of the skull, and then fork. The male will drop its antlers after the mating season and conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop. They initially have a layer of skin, called ‘velvet’, which is shed once the antlers become fully grown. AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479 youraga.ca
Page 1 and 2: Interpretive Guide & Hands-on Activ
Page 3 and 4: The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Page 51: The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Page 103 and 104:
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119:
show all

Urban Animals - Art Gallery of Alberta

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?