Well, well, well. Author Ben Goldfarb is making waves in the UK. This morning he headlines the Belfast Telegraph who wrote about his presentation in Wales. The CS Lewis thing seems to be hitting people kinda hard.
CS Lewis misled public over diet of beavers, says writer
An environmental journalist has blamed the Belfast-born author of the Chronicles of Narnia tales for anglers’ opposition to re-introducing beavers to the UK
Speaking at this year’s Hay Festival in Wales, Ben Goldfarb – author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter – criticised CS Lewis for giving the misleading impression that beavers eat fish.
Fish-eating Mr and Mrs Beaver are key characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Mr Goldfarb said that the impression given to generations of fans had led to real world consequences in attitudes towards the beaver.
The reintroduction of the species is opposed by many anglers who fear they will eat the supply of fish. Mr Goldfarb said Lewis “totally blew that one” after noting that beavers did not eat fish.
“He said: They’re totally herbivorous. That’s one of the funny things about beaver reproduction in the UK: every British schoolchild reads Narnia and they grow up thinking that beavers are going to eat all the fish. That is biologically inaccurate.
“They have a few species of tree that they most like – that’s willow and the whole poplar family – birch, aspen, cottonwood”.
I don’t know how serious this is. I mean would America be upset if we found that Orb-weaving spiders can’t spell? Or that lions don’t lead revolutions? The country hadn’t seen a single beaver in nearly 5 centuries. Of course some creative soul is going to make things up about them. I mean for crying out loud an American paper once published that they lived on the moon, walked on their hind legs and discovered fire for pete’s sake. Popular science published an account of them making the canals on Mars.
Eating fish is small potatoes by comparison.
The Daily Mail had a more contextual look:
Environmentalist BLASTS C.S. Lewis’s ‘Chronicles Of Narnia’ For ‘Miseducating’ The Public About Beavers
The beavers themselves not only fish — wThe beavers themselves not only fish — which, apparently, real beavers do not do — they fish with human fishing implements, cut holes in the ice to ice fish, and decorate the inside of their dams with fishing accoutrement. They also cook over a hot stove, serve dinner on plates, eat with flatware, wear clothes, and talk. If there are lingering concerns about what people might learn about beavers from the works of C.S. Lewis, it seems “they eat fish” is the least of anyone’s worries.hich, apparently, real beavers do not do — they fish with human fishing implements, cut holes in the ice to ice fish, and decorate the inside of their dams with fishing accoutrement. They also cook over a hot stove, serve dinner on plates, eat with flatware, wear clothes, and talk. If there are lingering concerns about what people might learn about beavers from the works of C.S. Lewis, it seems “they eat fish” is the least of anyone’s worries.
I have to say I agree, I hope they paid as much attention to the other things Ben said. Ahem.
Now if you wanted a real beaver bedtime story, I would recommend this heart-melting series of moments. Apparently instinct can not be ignored.
Furniture be dammed.
