Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: Old Town Toronto
Date: July 2026
Website: oldtowntoronto.ca
FIFA football came to North America and some matches were held in Toronto. During this time a group of beavers came to Old Town Toronto. There was a beaver representing each participating country in the World Cup and a few special extras like the Old Town Toronto beaver above. A scavenger hunt was held to try and find them all. The borders of Old Town run from Yonge Street in the west to Parliament in the east and include everything south of (but not located on) Queen Street down to the Gardiner expressway. We managed to find all of the beavers and are glad to finally share them with you here. The contest has now ended and the beavers will be auctioned off. Many will start to show up in new locations around Toronto and beyond.
ALGERIA
The beaver representing Algeria was made using a traditional Zellige Mosaic style used in Algerian architecture. It was situated inside Bottega della Piadina. Piadina is a thin Italian flatbread. An eatery that serves this is called a piadineria.
ARGENTINA
The beaver representing Argentina stands outside of the Novotel hotel. It has a tattoo of superstar Lionel Messi kissing the World Cup trophy.
AUSTRIA
The beaver representing Austria has the Danube River flowing across its body. It was sitting out in the patio of Score On King.
The beaver representing Belgium is also sitting out on a patio. This time it is at Versus Coffee. The beaver features the gold, red and black of the Belgium flag. Their football team is often referred to as the Red Devils.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
The beaver representing Bosnia & Herzegovina is covered in Fleur-de-Lis. Fleur-de-Lis can be found on their first flag and coat of arms. This beaver was located in Courthouse Square.
Also in Courthouse Square is this permanent stack of books called The Laws of Nature. Courthouse Square used to be the site of public punishments for crime, up until 1865.
BRAZIL
The beaver representing Brazil has the Brazilian flag on its chest. It sits outside of the HotHouse restaurant looking across at the Gooderham Building.
CANADA
The beaver representing Canada was sporting a lumberjack jacket over top of a maple leaf shirt. It was sitting in Berczy Park, along with all the dogs, two cats and two birds that call the park home.
There is a second Canada beaver called Maple Leaf Forever. It sits on the traffic island with the Gooderham Building in the background. During FIFA unfortunately, the Gooderham or Flatiron Building was covered in scaffolding and tarps.
CABO VERDE
The beaver representing Cabo Verde has some sharks swimming across its belly. This beaver stands in front of the Young People's Theatre.
The beaver representing Colombia looks more like a jaguar. It is covered in Colombian wildlife including a spectacled bear on one side. It was standing on the corner of Market Street just south of St. Lawrence Market.
CONGO DR
The beaver representing the Democratic Republic of Congo was hard to find as it was hidden inside a St. Louis Bar & Grill. The beaver is wrapped in the Congo flag of red, gold and blue.
The beaver representing Côte d'Ivoire was wrapped in orange, gold and green. It was located inside Onyx Barbers so we are sure its fur was nice and trimmed.
The beaver representing Croatia was dressed in a traditional Croatian outfit. This beaver was outside of the Lamb Design Centre. In this one case, there was also beaver design involved.
The beaver representing Curacao was inside Woof Gang Bakery. This beautiful blue beaver was probably visiting the store for gourmet pet treats and grooming.
The beaver representing Ecuador is another beaver located in a pet store. This beaver in the Pet Valu store has a brightly coloured mask.
The beaver representing Egypt was inside the EQ3 furniture store. This beaver is covered in different symbols. The ball is painted with the Eye of Horus which is a symbol of protection.
The beaver representing England was inside Toronto's First Post Office. Since this post office started by handling British Royal Mail, this makes perfect sense. The post office is technically the fourth post office of York, but the first that was operating when Toronto incorporated.
The beaver representing France is painted in France's red, white and blue. This beaver was hiding deep inside the Beauchamp Art Gallery surrounded by other works of art.
The beaver representing Germany is painted to look like the tiles found in Berlin's subway stations. This beaver was at home inside a Bulthaup kitchen design store. Bulthaup is a German company.
The beaver representing Ghana was designed by three artists. This beaver is found outside of the Canadian Stage building. It is the Canadian Stage who brings Shakespeare to Toronto's High Park each summer.
The beaver representing Haiti was possibly the brightest beaver in the whole bunch. It was not just bright in colour, but bright in mind. It was seated just outside the classic George Street Diner.
The beaver representing Iran is mostly purple and has a griffin in the center of its chest. The beaver was located at St. Lawrence Hall which may or may not be haunted. Based upon our experience, mostly may.
The beaver representing Iraq features the sun behind palm trees on a sandy beach. This beaver statue was outside of the Toronto Sculpture Garden. All statues are sculptures, but not all sculptures are statues.
The beaver representing Japan was all dressed in pink and flowers. Japan is known for its cherry blossoms. The Sakura trees in Toronto's High Park are a gift from Tokyo. This beaver was inside the King Edward Hotel along with the beaver from the Netherlands.
The beaver representing Jordan was enjoying a tea or coffee in David Crombie Park. David Crombie was mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978.
The beaver representing Korea is covered in Hangul which is the Korean writing system.
The beaver representing Mexico is painted like an Alebrijes, which is a traditional Mexican animal sculpture style. This beaver was sitting in St James Park.
The beaver representing Morocco is wearing a Moroccan kaftan and sporting a little mustache. He was located inside Cobs Bread where you can get bread and other delicious baked treats.
The beaver representing Netherlands was located inside the King Edward hotel. It had Dutch style houses painted on its belly.
The beaver representing New Zealand has a silver fern painted on its back. It is seated beside an old fire hose outside of Fire Hall 333.
The beaver representing Norway has some big teeth. It is painted like a Viking longboat. It was just inside the Yonge Street entrance of 33 Yonge Street.
The beaver representing Panama was a little outside of Old Town. It was sitting on the stairs near the Union Station food court. Its face was painted in the colours and the stars of the Panama flag.
The beaver representing Paraguay was outside the Canadian Venture Building. This beaver had the colours of Paraguay's flag as well as the waterfall, Monday Falls.
The beaver representing Portugal was outside of Cantina Mercatto. The restaurant is Italian and this beaver has the Italian flag colours. The red and green and yellow crest are pure Portugal.
The beaver representing Qatar was wearing a traditional Qatari gown. It was outside of the Holiday Inn near Jarvis Street, possibly looking for a place to spend the night.
The beaver representing Saudi Arabia was wearing a head dress called a shemagh. It was located inside The Globe & Mail building.
The beaver representing Scotland was appropriately seated outside of Scotland Yard Pub. This beaver was wearing a kilt and had a nice red bow tie.
The beaver representing Senegal was seated in the shade outside Berkeley Castle. It has the Senegal flag colours on the cuffs of its outfit.
The beaver representing South Africa was dressed in the South African flag and when we visited it was wearing a hat as well. It was in the garden outside of State Street Financial.
The beaver representing Spain was dressed like a bullfighter. It was sitting outside of the College of Makeup Art & Design.
The beaver representing Sweden was wearing a viking helmet and holding a weapon. This beaver was in the doorway of Italinteriors furniture store and ready for battle.
The beaver representing Switzerland was in the lobby of the Alumnae Theatre. This beaver's design was inspired by Swiss map making.
The beaver representing Tunisia was painted in floral patterns. It was located inside the St. Lawrence Toronto Public Library.
The beaver representing Turkiye also had flower patterns. Its football had an eye on it to keep away negative energy. It was outside of a McDonald's.
The beaver representing USA was originally in St. James Park. It had little American flag tattoos under its eyes.
The beaver representing Uruguay has its head painted like the sun and a horse running across its chest. It was on the Scott Street side of 33 Yonge. It shares the building with the beaver for Norway.
The beaver representing Uzbekistan has a design based on Susani style. It was outside of OEB Breakfast Co. waiting to have the most important meal of the day....brunch.
_8856.jpg "See The Toronto Zoo's Red Fox. Sorry, Now It Belongs To The Rouge Valley.")
