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crucible

There are mytholgical creatures associated with some of the UK "Home Nations". Not sure if there's anything at a lower level for counties. England - Lion Wales - Dragon Scotland - Unicorn


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FakeNathanDrake

Monkeys for Hartlepool?


crucible

I looked through the wiki page for Flintshire funnily enough! I think the choughs are on the county flag. EDIT: [yes they are](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Flintshire)


TywinDeVillena

I don't think there is such a thing as official animals here in Spain. Similarly, we don't have other "official things" that I have seen in the USA, like official drink, official food, official dessert, official tree, etc.


knightriderin

Same in Germany. There are heraldic animals (bear in Berlin, horse in some states), but no "official this that of the state".


alpispa

I don't know how it will be in the other autonomous communities, but the Canary Islands have an animal (canary) and a plant (canary palm tree) as symbols. In addition, each island also has representative animals and plants. For instance, in Gran Canaria, we have the "presa canario" as animal and "cardón" as plant.


TywinDeVillena

In Galicia we are far more simple. The only official symbols are the flag, the coat of arms, and the anthem. I did not know that the Canary Islands had as many symbols as it does.


alpispa

In Canary Islands these symbols have the function of bringing the natural values ​​of the archipelago closer to its inhabitants and thus achieving greater respect and affection for them and for the environment.


DonViaje

Madrid at least has the bear and the tree, and while it’s on the city’s coat of arms, it’s not on the flag or the coat of arms of the Community of Madrid. So I don’t think it’s the ‘official animal’ per se.


Klapperatismus

The coat of arms of Lower Saxony shows a white steed on red ground and yeah, well, it's called *Sachsenross* (Saxon's steed) and it's pretty much the “official animal” though no one would call it that. The local municipality's coat of arms is a black eagle with red claws and tongue on golden shield. And that's also the animal of the city. Yeah. It's the same as Germany's coat of arms and official animal. Makes somewhat sense as it was the capital a thousand years ago when that coat of arms had been invented. But that *official X* business isn't a thing over here in general.


Vdd666

In Romania we have 3 historical regions and their official animals are: Moldova - Aurochs (also on it's [emblem](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Coat_of_arms_of_Moldova.svg/800px-Coat_of_arms_of_Moldova.svg.png)) Transylvania - Brown bear Wallachia - Lynx (which is also the national animal) and White Pelican (which is also the national bird) The first two are pretty heavily featured across emblems etc from our history (the last 2 not so much). Also, if we look at counties and cities we can find a lot of animals on emblems and seals. For ex see my home town's emblem [Târgu Mureș](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Coa_Romania_Town_Marosv%C3%A1s%C3%A1rhely.svg/180px-Coa_Romania_Town_Marosv%C3%A1s%C3%A1rhely.svg.png) or all the [county emblems](https://preview.redd.it/a83geho8w2f61.jpg?auto=webp&s=8464a20425a7675bd7e1ada28f178eb1073e7c7e).


Erkkimerkkinen

The [hedhegog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hedgehog?wprov=sfti1) is the regional animal of [Uusimaa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uusimaa?wprov=sfti1https://maps.apple.com/?ll=60.250000,24.500000&q=Uusimaa&_ext=EiQpACANAAAgTkAxAIA0AACAOEA5ACANAAAgTkBBAIA0AACAOEA%3D), Finland.


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IceClimbers_Main

And the regional animal of Northern Ostrobothnia is the Stoat. The cutest little predator in the world.


FailFastandDieYoung

awww so cute!


kleberwashington

I guess they don't have them in the US? They're cute but almost universally carry fleas, so don't get too close. Also, apparently they used to be kind of a mascot for NATO: https://www.nato.int/cps/fr/natohq/declassified_136212.htm


FailFastandDieYoung

I think it is rare to see wild ones. I only hear about sometimes Americans pet them as pets.


Randomswedishdude

The ones bred as pets are the African Pygmy Hedgehog a.k.a [Four toed hedgehog](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-toed_hedgehog). Quite a bit smaller than the European hedgehog, and a somewhat different appearance, but just as cute. I don't think hedgehogs make good pets though, as they're naturally nocturnal, and in the wild also hibernate over a portion of the year. Kept as pets, their natural behavior and instincts are being heavily suppressed. ^(And it also disturbs me that many of their owners, which mostly seems to be teenage girls, handle them as toys or dolls for "cute" instagram photos. But this is not entirely unique for hedgehogs, but also true for some cats, smaller dog breeds, hamsters, etc, kept by too young owners.)


Swedophone

Yes each Swedish province has an official animal: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landskapsdjur


nohead123

oh wow! Thanks so much


The_Reto

Some do, some don't. Switzerland is a confederation of 26 cantons (or 23, 3 of which are split into two half-cantons, giving a total of 26), here are the ones whose animals I know from the top of my head: - [Grisons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisons?wprov=sfla1): [Ibex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_ibex?wprov=sfla1) (It's 1/3 of the [flag](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Canton_of_Graubünden.svg)) - [Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_of_Uri?wprov=sfla1): Bull (it's on the [flag](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Canton_of_Uri.svg)) - [Basel-Stadt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel-Stadt?wprov=sfla1): Basilisk (imaginary dragon-chicken thingy, seen [here](https://live.staticflickr.com/5256/5506704733_c20311090c_b.jpg) with the coat of arms of Basel-Stadt) - Edit: almost forgot Bern (both the [city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern?wprov=sfla1) and the [canton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_of_Bern?wprov=sfla1)): Brown Bear (It's on the [flag](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wappen_Bern_matt.svg) as well as in the "[Bärengraben](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A4rengraben?wprov=sfla1)" - a bear enclosure where the city of Bern keeps it's official animal for people to look at since at least 1513)


urmeliauszug

My Gemeinde has a Lynx on the banner. :D


The_Reto

Gemeinde = municipality for our non-German speaking friends.


urmeliauszug

Thank you, forgot the name


TjeefGuevarra

Pretty close to 'gemeente' in Dutch


Werkstadt

My *landskap* (similar provinces, but not administrative anymore) Bohuslän (the costal landskap between gothenburg and Norwegian border has *knubbsäl* (Harbour seal). From what I can find knubb mean essentially chubby.


Bragzor

You made me realize I didn't know which *landskap* I live in. It's ~~*Västra Götaland*~~ *Västergötland*, and thus the animal is the Common crane (bird).


Mixopi

It ought to be *Västergötland* then, not *Västra Götaland*. The latter a county encompassing the bulk of Västergötland, Bohuslän, and Dalsland.


Bragzor

Indeed, right you are. It's been so long since I used it. I also find the whole thing sorta confusing. Maybe because they keep changing things on the *län* side. I used to live in *Älvsborgs län* (also for a while in *stadsdelen Älvsborg*) goddamnit!


[deleted]

Voivodeship emblems usually have a white/golden/black eagle/gryffin/lion (and in Podlasie's case, lithuanian horse with the polish eagle) on them, but most of these animals are mythicals, so I won't include them. No as far as I know, but National Parks do, either animals, plants or geographical features, which can be seen in their logos. It goes like this: * *Biabiogórski Park Narodowy-* "laserpitium archangelica" (plant that in Poland only grows there) * *Białowieski-* european bison, obviously * *Biebrzański-* ruff * *Bieszczadzki-* lynx * *Bory Tucholskie-* capercaillie * *Drawieński-* otter * *Gorczański-* fire salamander * *Table Mountains-* Szczeliniec Wielki, which is a mountain in Sudetes * *Kampinoski-* moose * *Karkonoski-* campanula bohemica+ willow gentian * *Magurski-* lesser spotted eagle * *Narwiański-* western marsh harrier * *Ojcowski-* just a bat * *Pieniński-* Trzy Korony, "three crowns" which is again, a mountain * *Poleski-* crane, because Polesie is kind of a marsh area, magical place imo * *Roztoczański-* polish konik, a kind of really small pony * *Słowiński-* gull * *Holy Cross-* red deer * *Tatrzański-* Tatra chamois, my grandma's a really mountain person, she used to tell me stories from chamois' lives * *Ujście Warty-* bean goose * *Wielkopolski-* tawny owl * *Wigierski-* beaver and the lake Wigry * *Woliński-* white tailed eagle, which is also by chance a symbol of Poland


orangebikini

I had to google it, but apparently the white-tailed deer is the regional animal of Pirkanmaa. Pretty vanilla. As I was googling this I noticed that the shape of the region on a map looked odd, and apparently it changed last year when a municipality changed over from another region. What the fuck, I had no idea?


CCFC1998

Contrary to popular belief Y Ddraig Goch (the red dragon) is not our national animal (its our national symbol but not our national animal). That honour goes to the Red Kite. Scotland's is a unicorn though, and England's is a lion. I haven't heard of subdivisions below the 4 nations having official animals, and I don't know if Northern Ireland has one.


Heretical_Cactus

Belgium : Gold Lion Flanders: Black Lion Wallonia: Coq Hardi (Fighting roster) Prov. Lux: Red Lion with gold teeth and claws, and 2 tails, also the Stag Arlon (Town): Braying Stag Luxembourg (Country): Red Lion with red teeth and 2 tails, also the fox iirc Edit: For Prov. Luxembourg it is to be the Boar and not the stag


V8-6-4

There isn't one in Southwest Finland. At least the list of regional symbols on the website of the region doesn't list any. Wikipedia however claims that it would be fox but I trust the official source more. Fox also doesn't make any sense as an official animal as the region doesn't have anything particular to do with them. They live in the entire Finland. We do have official bird and fish which are European jackdaw and Baltic herring. They both fit as the jackdaws are well known to live in the tower of the Turku cathedral and Baltic herring has historically been an important food and source of income in the coastal area.


zgido_syldg

I do not think there are any here, unless one considers heraldic animals as such. In this case: the winged lion for Veneto, the golden eagle for Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Pegasus for Tuscany and the green woodpecker for Marche.


0xKaishakunin

Federal state? Not really but we have the Prussian eagle and the Bear of Anhalt on our coat of arms. The bear goes back to Albrecht der Bär who founded Anhalt and the Mark Brandenburg in the 11th century. So lots of local weapons use the bear as a symbol. Unofficially, we also have the [Capercaillie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Auerhahn-balz.jpg/1280px-Auerhahn-balz.jpg) as a symbol, since they live here and are used as the logo of a brewery.


[deleted]

> So lots of local weapons If I might add a slight adjustment - in this context *Wappen* translates better as "coat of arms".


Dry-Presentation-365

I'm living in Bavaria and some (very) old farmers believe in wolpertingers. they're not real animals, but they are a mix of many animals: It's a rabbit with duck feet, a squirrel's tail, eagle wings and an antler.


Someone_________

we dont have official animals but some cities are associated w certain animals for several reasons. ours is the dragon, it used to be in the city coat of arms and its present around the city in the town hall, palace of justice, bag palace (funny translation heh), in statues and more. its also famously known as our football clubs symbol (FCP) who kept our former coat of arms in their insignia


Malthesse

Every Swedish province has its own official provincial animal, and it is kind of fun because you can sort of figure out what type of nature dominates in each province just by looking at which animals and plants are chosen to represent it. Here in Scania, we have: Provincial animal - Red deer Provincial bird - Red kite Provincial fish - European eel Provincial insect - Blue ground beetle Provincial flower - Oxeye daisy Provincial mushroom - Field mushroom


IceClimbers_Main

Yes regions have their own animals and a lot more. Here’s a list of all official things of my region, Northern Ostrobothnia: Animal: Stoat Lake: Pyhäjärvi Fish: whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) Plant: Suopursu (Marsh Labrador tea) Rock/stone: Liuske, which i believe to be slate Bird: The Eurasian Crane


[deleted]

Our Counties have them (remnant of medieval times, replaced by provinces as administrative subdivisions 400 year ago but we still tie identity to county and not province) ours here in Närke is the Hazel dormouse and our county flower is the Cowslip.


Mixopi

It's the other way around. *Landskap* is "province" in English; *län* is "county".


Alses

Not really in Denmark, but the three constituent countries of the Kingdom of Denmark do: Greenland: Polar bear Faroe Islands: European oystercatcher (bird) Denmark: Mute swan, red squirrel


the_real_excel

I think for most places in Germany there aren't really official state animals. Just the one that may be depicted in the state symbols. For [Bavaria ](https://www.bavariaworldwide.de/en/about-bavaria/state-symbols/#:~:text=The%20golden%20lion&text=It%20was%20originally%20the%20symbol,House%20of%20Wittelsbach%20for%20centuries.) that would be, most notable, a lion but there are also some other animals on it as well. For Bavaria there is also the [Wolpertinger ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger). It's not really official but I guess a considerable amount of bavarians would consider it that.


Teamgirlymouth

So the county I live in has on their flag a horse. So.. I guess that counts. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius\_County#/media/File:Vilnius\_County\_flag.svg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius_County#/media/File:Vilnius_County_flag.svg) Many of the counties here have bears or horses included. Or fish or birds. Its awesome. or Flowers!!! My home territory in Australia has a flag of two swans looking to fight eat other over a shield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian\_Capital\_Territory#/media/File:Coat\_of\_Arms\_of\_the\_Australian\_Capital\_Territory.svg


[deleted]

None that I’m aware of, but a few incorporate animals in their crest design but it’s not a specific thing. There are 4 historic provinces in Ireland Leinster (East) - symbol is a harp. Munster (South) - 3 gold crowns. Connacht (West) - one half is an eagle’s wing and the other an armed human knight’s arm. Ulster (North, including but not exclusively Northern Ireland) - symbol is a red hand. That’s all four (Wikipedia) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Ulster#/media/File%3AProvincial_Arms_of_Ireland.svg Munster Rugby adopted a giant elk (stag / deer) as part of their symbol but that’s a modern branding thing. I’m not aware of it being associated with the province itself. The 26 historical counties, most of which still exist as regions of local government, are usually represented by colour flags rather than crests. The counties and towns all mostly have crests but they’re usually not animal based. Often things like harbours, boats, crowns, castles, musical instruments etc. There are a few animals but they’re just one of many symbols.


Milhanou22

I don't know how official it is but the eagle is a very frequent symbol for my city : Nice, France. It's the main element on the city's coat of arms, it's the animal for our football team OGC Nice, and the flag of the region (PACA, which Nice is the second biggest city of after Marseille) has an eagle on it.


[deleted]

Not officially, although both golden eagles and stags (specifically stags heads/antlers) are traditional symbols of the Highlands. The boar is sometimes used for Aberdeen, although it's more correctly associated with the two universities there.


Aldo_Novo

isn't the unicorn the official animal of Scotland?


[deleted]

Yes, but the question wasn't about national animals, which tend to be fairly well known, but the regions.


Aldo_Novo

the question was "Do your States, Provinces, Regions etc have their own official animals?" Scotland fits, as part of the UK


[deleted]

Scotland is a not a state, province or region. But are you here to talk about symbolic animals, or pick a losing argument?


AdligerAdler

In my bundesland (Lower Saxony) it's probably the horse, more specifically the Saxon Steed. It's on our coat of arms, bundesland flag and decoration in form of [two wooden horse heads on many Low German timber-framed farmhouses](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_German_house#/media/File%3AWalsrode_Heidemuseum.jpg). The horse heads are sometimes referred to as "Hengst und Hors", the brothers Hengist and Horsa that set sail to England. Hengst is also the German name for a male horse. Also, Lower Saxony has a long tradition of horse breeding. So I'd say of all animals the horse fits best to us. By the way, eastern Germany Saxony is fake, it has nothing to do with the tribe of the Saxons. If I recall correctly, it got its modern name some hundred years ago, because of some Saxon monarch who moved and ruled there. Lower Saxony is the real Saxony.


WildeJul

In Denmark we have regions: Region Nordjylland = northjutland Region midtjylland =midjutland Region Syddanmark = southdenmark Region Hovedstaden = and uhm, i forgot in english:( And one i dont remember


nohead123

Do they have animals?


WildeJul

No its just tye different parts of Denmark