Flags, coats of arms, and folklore
National Animals
Every country picks an animal to stand for it. The choices are rarely arbitrary โ they're shaped by ecology, history, conquest, conservation, and the occasional Latin pun. Here's the story behind 28 of them.
๐บ๐ธUnited States
Bald Eagle
National Bird & Emblem
From the brink of extinction back to the Great Seal.
๐ฆ๐บAustralia
Red Kangaroo
National Animal
On the coat of arms โ and on every Qantas plane.
๐ง๐นBhutan
Takin
National Animal
A goat-antelope said to have been built from leftover bones.
๐ง๐ทBrazil
Jaguar
National Mammal
The Americas' biggest cat โ and the strongest bite of any.
๐จ๐ฆCanada
North American Beaver
National Animal
The rodent that built a country.
๐จ๐ณChina
Giant Panda
National Treasure
The face of global conservation.
๐ซ๐ทFrance
Gallic Rooster
National Symbol
A pun that stuck for 2,000 years.
๐ฉ๐ชGermany
Federal Eagle (Bundesadler)
National Coat of Arms
Same bird, redesigned every regime change.
๐ฎ๐ณIndia
Bengal Tiger
National Animal
Project Tiger turned a vanishing species around.
๐ฎ๐ณIndia
Indian Peacock
National Bird
A walking work of iridescent art.
๐ฎ๐ฉIndonesia
Komodo Dragon
National Animal
The world's largest living lizard.
๐ฏ๐ตJapan
Green Pheasant
National Bird
The bird that brings the peach boy.
๐ฒ๐ฌMadagascar
Ring-tailed Lemur
National Animal (cultural)
The face of the only place on Earth where lemurs live.
๐ฒ๐ฝMexico
Golden Eagle
National Bird
The eagle on the flag, eating a serpent on a cactus.
๐ฒ๐ณMongolia
Przewalski's Horse
National Animal
The last truly wild horse on Earth.
๐ณ๐ฟNew Zealand
Kiwi
National Bird
A flightless bird so iconic, the people are named after it.
๐ต๐ฐPakistan
Markhor
National Animal
A wild goat with corkscrew horns โ saved by community conservation.
๐ต๐ชPeru
Vicuรฑa
National Animal
The wild ancestor of the alpaca, with the world's finest wool.
๐ต๐ญPhilippines
Philippine Eagle
National Bird
One of the largest eagles alive โ and one of the rarest.
๐ท๐บRussia
Eurasian Brown Bear
National Animal (informal)
Russia's bear has no official status โ and never needed one.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟScotland
Unicorn
National Animal (heraldic)
A real country's national animal โ that isn't real.
๐ฟ๐ฆSouth Africa
Springbok
National Animal
Famous for pronking โ and rugby.
๐น๐ฟTanzania
Maasai Giraffe
National Animal
The tallest land animal โ and one of the most threatened.
๐น๐ญThailand
Thai Elephant
National Animal
A sacred white elephant once meant royal power.
๐ฆ๐ชUnited Arab Emirates
Arabian Oryx
National Animal
Extinct in the wild โ then brought back.
๐ฌ๐งUnited Kingdom
Lion
National Animal (heraldic)
Three lions on the royal coat of arms.
๐บ๐ธUnited States
American Bison
National Mammal
From 30 million to a few hundred, and back.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟWales
Welsh Dragon
National Symbol
On the flag for almost 2,000 years.
A country's animal is a self-portrait
Whether it's a recovered species like the Bald Eagle, an engineering rodent like the Beaver, or a mythical creature like Scotland's Unicorn โ what a country chooses says as much about them as it does about the animal.
โ Back to animal facts