Video shows beaver unbothered and in its lane on busy Toronto sidewalk

A wild beaver spotted making his way down a bustling footpath in downtown Toronto served to delight onlookers on Thursday, though video shows it was completely unfazed by the crowd that had gathered around.

Coincidentally wandering right near the city's BeaverTails shop on the Harbourfront, the large and adorable rodent was seen procuring materials for its dam or lodge with a meme-worthy level of "unbothered and in my lane."

Despite resident humans observing it with excitement, the beaver remained laser-focused on its mission, completely unbothered by a group of children who hilariously (and quite loudly) narrated its journey toward the water.

"I've never seen a beaver once in my life!" one of the kids can be heard saying in the clip as the group followed the wild animal, who was busy carrying a large branch to the lake.

Spotted in downtown Toronto! A Beaver right at the foot of York Street and Queens Quay. A stones throw from the @BeaverTails stand! Turn up the volume, the play by play by a group of excited children is the best! #TorontoBeaver #CanadianContent pic.twitter.com/pblJ371Lfg

— Adrian Ghobrial (@AdrianGhobrial) January 25, 2024

As the critter proceeded across many metres of paths — after sourcing the wood dangerously close to traffic near Queens Quay West and York Street — they opted to skip the stairs down to the boardwalk and Lake Ontario, instead attempting to drag the loot over some shrubbery in between.

"Does he need help?" one of the children wondered, to which an adult on the scene assured the group "he's got it."

The woman then went on to encourage the little guy, who did appear to be struggling with the particularly difficult branch more than double its size.

Though the more than two-minute-long clip cuts off before viewers can see if the animal was successful, CTV National News correspondent Adrian Ghobrial, who originally posted the footage, did confirm to blogTO that it indeed managed to get the bough home safely.

"It spent a good amount of time cutting that branch down too," he added.

While animal sightings spiked around the downtown core during the lockdown era when things were far quieter, it seems that a few creatures — multiple beavers and turkeys included — have been bold (or confused) enough to hang around despite all of the human activity.