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I don't want to be too picky, but at least the eagle pictured on Germany is kind of wrong. While it is not specified which species of eagle the "Bundesadler" is, it is most definitely never depicted as a bald eagle (that would be the USA). More usuale would be a Golden eagle or a White-tailed eagle.
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Same for Hungary: the national bird is the Turul, a mythological bird. Presumably it originates from the Saker falcon, so it's not even an eagle.
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Yeah, I wouldn't be too attached to the specific animal version for each, this is more symbolic than anything else
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If you are interested in the history and background of the Bundesadler, here is an informative video. It's in German and I'm afraid there is no English version
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It's a black eagle on the official Bundestag seal and flag. But Wikipedia says those only live in southeast Asia. What's up with that?
The eagle being depicted in black doesn't make it a black eagle. English is a weird language.
England: oh I'm a lion
Scotland: motherfuck unicorn man
Wales: rawww dragon time
Ireland: umm rabbit?
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England picks the most unimaginative, basic-bitch animal possible, so of course Scotland and Wales go in the complete opposite direction.
The rules didnโt specify that the animal was supposed to be real. Fictional animals are still animals, so they should be fine.
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I always find it weird when countries use animals that are not native to their country. Although in Scotland I'm pretty sure that unicorns actually exist somewhere. Or at least, they do if you drink enough.
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Obligatory joke:
I was in a bar the other night and overheard three very hefty women talking. Their accent appeared to be Scottish, so I approached and asked, "Hello, ladies, are you three lassies from Scotland? One of them angrily screeched, "It's Wales, you bloody idiot, Wales!" So I apologized and replied, "I am so sorry. Are you three whales from Scotland?"
If you go back far enough there were now extinct lions in northern Europe as well. But wild lions as we know them today existed in Greece, the Balkans, etc. Even as late as the 10th century CE.
Unicorns are notably ferocious animals. Their recent association with little girls has done significant harm to their reputation.
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Back in the days when unicorns were unicorns, and girls were girls.
And unicorns would probably do totally sick shit like carry off little girls and eat their livers.
Simpler times.
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Knowing pretty much nothing else about Wales, their national animal is undoubtedly the most badass.
Also probs to Greece for having the only animal living in the sea.
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Team unicorn, represent! I'd swear half the entrance doorways to our historic buildings have the lion and the unicorn carved above, and everyone still seems surprised by the "Scotland's national animal is a what now?" response.
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Wikipedia also has a list with more countries and animals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_animals
E.g. Denmark even has 3 national animals listed and not just the swan in the picture: Red squirrel (national mammal), Mute swan (national bird) and Small tortoiseshell (national butterfly).
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Wait we do? I didn't realize we even had one official animal, let alone 4
Edit: the Finnish Wikipedia claims we have 6 official animals, one of them being ladybugs:
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There's one "national animal" and then there's national horse, insect, fish, bird, butterfly and one that wasn't on your list, national dog. So that'd be seven. Get on our level, other countries!
How could they leave out this good boy from hte list
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True! For all you non-Nordics, that's a Finnish Spitz and they're certified good boyes. My personal favorite is the Finnish Lapphund because they're so incredibly floofy, and it's an interesting breed because it was originally bred by the Sรกmi for herding reindeer:
Ackchyually, Poland's national animal is a white stork, but this looks more like an egret.
Anyway, great infographic
Lol in hungary we have an imaginary bird called turul and thats our national animal...
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Unfortunately Italy does not have an official national animal, meaning no animals are enshrined in our constitution or any of our national symbols. However if we had one that would definitely be the wolf.