Description
This 2015 $20 fine silver coin was issued to celebrate Canada’s rich biodiversity, and highlights the animal kingdom’s family bonds with endearing images of Canada’s baby animals. The image features a young owlet with its mother in its natural habitat. Mintage is limited to just 7,500 coins. The coin is struck in .9999 fine silver and weighs just over one ounce. GST/HST exempt.
The Design:
This coin features a heartwarming design of an adult Burrowing Owl standing next to its owlet while holding a tasty offering of a grasshopper in its beak. Beautiful selective colouring showcases the Burrowing Owl's brown and white speckled plumage and highlights the key difference between an adult and its young; chicks have a solid, buff-coloured chest whereas an adult's chest is barred. The tall grass highlights the Burrowing Owl's prairie habitat and one can perhaps detect the shadowy entrance to a burrow behind the adorable pair.
The Burrowing Owl:
Young Burrowing Owls are particularly endearing for their extra-long legs that stick out from beneath their bodies like stilts. It's an adaptation for living on the grasslands; with few trees to perch on, Burrowing Owls have evolved to sprint along the ground to capture prey. And without trees for nesting, Burrowing Owls have adapted by living underground in abandoned badger, gopher or prairie dog homes. The chicks stay in the den for the first two weeks, but will soon emerge to explore their world and develop their hunting skills.
