It doesn't get much more Canadian than this.
A Nanaimo neighbourhood was put on high alert after a brazen break-and-enter attempt, but Mounties were stunned to instead find a flat-tailed felon hard at work.
The attempted break-in happened Wednesday night at a home in a typically quiet north Nanaimo neighbourhood.
Jessica Boyd said she was watching television around 10:40 p.m. while her nine-year-old son slept upstairs – and that's when she heard an unsettling noise.
"I heard this horrible scratching sound. It actually sounded like somebody was trying to break in through the window. It was very, very loud," said Boyd. "It was awful. I got really scared because there had been reports of people in the area looking at houses and stuff, so being alone and having my son here I was really scared."
Boyd called her neighbour, who in turn called 911 to report the break-in attempt. Police then called Boyd to gather information on the potential home invader and told her not to go outside.
Nanaimo RCMP confirmed they were called to the home for a report of a break-in, and mounted an appropriate response.
"Our members attended in full force, we set up containment, we approached the scene with the utmost trepidation really not knowing what to expect," said detachment spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien.
Boyd said an officer showed up at her home within a minute of the call
"He could hear the sound as well, and he was like tip-toeing up to the house because it was very loud and aggressive sounding," she said.
At this point, Boyd and the officer started to think a wayward cougar may have been trying to get into the house because the sounds were so loud and unusual.
The officer then went to Boyd's laundry room for a better vantage point of the intruder.
"This is a big guy. He's a big, burly, young RCMP guy. He had the vest on and everything, and he was a little frightened," he said. "He goes and he opens the window and he sticks his head out, and in the cutest, tiniest little voice, he says 'I have eyes on it.'"
O'Brien said the officer saw some movement in the backyard and yelled at the individual to come out with their hands up and not to make any quick movements.
"Sure enough, there was some movement," he said. "They put their flashlights on it, but the hands didn't come up – the paws came up."
The suspect? A full-grown beaver.
"It was trying to get out of my backyard because it had gotten into my backyard somehow and I still have no idea how," Boyd said. "It was chewing on the fence and scratching at it, and there's a hole, and the fence post is ripped up."
With its tail between its legs, the B&E beaver took off.
"Suspect was last seen sort of waddling down Sun Valley Drive, and it was best described as 12 inches high, somewhat overweight, a large tail and very large, yellow teeth," said O'Brien.
Mounties say they've never seen anything like it, and are having a good time joking about their run-in with the furry intruder.
"It's a little bit of comic relief," said O'Brien. "Our guys went for coffee later and shared a few laughs."
Safe to say, the Canadian criminal has left its mark on Boyd and her son as well.
"It's pretty funny. You can't really get more Canadian than a beaver and RCMP. All we would really need is some Timmy's," she said.
The slippery suspect is wanted for damages to the fence – and sources say it may be hiding in a nearby wetlands, licking its wounds after being caught red-toothed.
With files from CTV Vancouver Island's Chandler Grieve
