The German national animal and other wildlife in Germany

The national animal of Germany, the red-tongued eagle, has been the symbol of the federal republic since the end of the Second World War. The Bundesadler and animal heraldry in modern Germany has its origins in ancient Rome, but it also depicts German animals that you can look out for while out in nature today.

What is the national animal of Germany?

Eagles have flown the skies for 36 million years and more recently in their career, around 800 years ago, they were given a special place on Germany’s coat of arms. Also employed as the national animal of Poland, Ghana, Mexico, the US and Nigeria, the eagle is used as a symbol of strength, power and dominance in heraldry.

Why is the eagle (Bundesadler) the German national animal?

According to historical literature from 1897, Germany’s oldest banners did not show eagles but the Archangel Michael, no less than the chief of angels and archangels. This is thought to be the case from around 919 until 973 AD, sometime after which Michael was replaced by an eagle, which would evolve into the version used today.

Eagles were used as part of the emblem of Emperor Charlemange, King of the Franks, who was born in what is modern-day Aachen and ruled the Carolingian Empire - the period which is considered the first stage of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne chose the eagle as a nod to the Aquila eagle symbol of ancient Rome. 

Following the 1848 revolution, it was decided that a double-headed eagle would become the symbol of the new German confederation, harking back to the country’s origins in the Holy Roman Empire. This was also the first instance where the direction in which the eagle was facing became important.

During the period of the German Empire (1871-1918) Germany’s eagle lost one of its heads so that it could twin that displayed on the flag of Prussia, a black eagle looking to the left. This was the Reichsadler (the Imperial Eagle) and would remain the symbol of Germany until the founding of the Weimar Republic on November 9, 1918.

What’s the difference between the Reichsadler and the Bundesadler?

The transition to the Weimar Republic saw the German coat of arms scrap the crown, keep the eagle and use a coat of arms that looks similar to what we see today. Truly, the only difference between the Reichsadler and the Bundesadler is the name: the Bundesadler is the name that was adopted for the Reichsadler after 1945 and the symbol is identical to the one used today.

What came between the Reichsadler and the Bundesadler is perhaps one of the most internationally infamous symbols of Germany there has ever been - the Parteiadler. This was the NSDAP’s variation on the Reichsadler, a black eagle with wings outstretched far on either side and standing atop an oak wreath which surrounded a swastika. While this was initially used to symbolise the Nazi party, it was also adopted as Germany’s national symbol in 1935.

Following the defeat of Germany in the Second World War, the ally-controlled West Germany adopted the Bundesadler, while the GDR stuck with the same red, black and gold colours but embellished its flag with the communist symbols of a hammer, a wreath of corn and a compass, intended to symbolise solidarity between labourers, agricultural workers and intellectuals. Come the reunification of Germany in 1989, the Bundesadler was adopted everywhere.

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Which other German animals are used in heraldry?

Though the modern Bundesadler is the main animal symbolically associated with Germany, there are a number of other animals which represent the 16 individual federal states today. The most famous is the Berlin bear, which has been shown on the city’s emblems since 1709. The reason? The Berlin coat of arms is thought to be a “canting arms”, meaning one that is based on a pun or near homonym - in this case, regarding the two words, “Berlin” (pronounced Bear-lean in German) and “Bär” (bear).

Lions are also commonly used to represent Germany’s federal states. Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia all feature a lion on their coat of arms as a symbol of courage and nobility.

Along with the eagles on the coats of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt, horses are another lesser-represented animal, featuring as a symbol of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Initially, the same white horse, the Saxon steed, represented both states, until the coat of North Rhine-Westphalia switched to showing the horse rampant.

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Wildlife in Germany

The eagle is perhaps the most majestic of all of Germany’s native animals and this could well be another reason why it has been kept as the national emblem until today. Unfortunately, the wild boar or the seal does not traditionally evoke the courage or dominance that Germany wants to communicate with the modern Bundesadler. 

If you’re out in the wilderness or one of Germany's many national parks, these are some of the native animals with whom you may cross paths: 

Wild boar (Wildschwein)

There are thought to be around 2 million wild boar in Germany today. The population has been growing for a long time, and now, increasingly common milder winter temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change mean that the boar have even more perfect conditions to breed all year round.

Ranging from cute and tiny to massive and scary, Germany’s increasing boar population, which is especially large in Berlin, has led to an uptick in unfortunate interactions between human and boar in recent years, everything ranging from the nude wild boar chase by a man who had his laptop stolen lakeside to the animal being mistaken for a lioness.

Image credit: Nataliia Melnychuk / Shutterstock.com

Seal (Robbe)

Germany’s population of seals has also spiked in recent years, thanks to beaches being more empty during the spread of coronavirus. Unlike wild boar, hunting for the common seal has been illegal in Germany since the 1970s.

Common grey seals inhabit the coasts of Germany’s very few beaches in the north, and are particularly widespread around the island of Heligoland - this is where to head if you want to do some seal spotting.

Seals have an astonishing sense of smell and sense changes to water pressure and currents in their whiskers. Compared to humans’ approximately mere 300.000 years on Earth, fossil records suggest that the first seals existed around 17 million years ago.

Image credit: JaklZdenek / Shutterstock.com

Alpine marmot (Alpenmurmeltiere)

As their name suggests, you’ll have to be in the south to catch a look at these cuties, but if you do, be prepared to stay for a chat since they are very sociable with humans. They are sociable with each other too, living in groups of 20 or more.

Alpine marmots are best known for their whistles, which could easily be mistaken for the blood-curdling scream of a child. If you’d like to see one for certain rather than just hear their sinister calls, there are trails all over the southern border which point out special marmot spotting points.

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Bear (Bär)

Contrary to popular belief, there are currently no bears living in the wild in Germany, but they are still commonly associated with the country.

Bears became extinct in Germany in the mid-19th century, with the last individual photographed in the Bavarian mountains back in 1835. Bears could only be found in captivity in Germany from then on and not a single one has been seen in the wild since. 

That was until 2006 when a brown bear named Bruno decided to take a holiday from his native northern Italy and hike the 250 kilometres through Austria to roam villages in Bavaria. This was magical until Bruno started killing sheep and scaring the police. As it tends to, the fairytale feeling ended there - Bruno was eventually shot and his body has since been kept at a museum in Munich, a truly Grimm ending for the bear.

Image credit: Constance Mahoney / Shutterstock.com

Golden eagle

Finally, the star of the show and conqueror of the skies, the golden eagle (Steinadler) is pretty common to see in Germany, as well as many other types of eagle such as the Osprey and the contradictingly-named Lesser Spotted Eagle. Take the train across the country or drive along the autobahn and you’ll be sure to see an eagle preying above at some point.

In recent years, the symbolic significance of eagles in Germany has involved a heavy dose of irony. At least in the case of the Lesser Spotted Eagle, the bird's population has been declining since the 1990s due to the disappearance of the wooded and wetland habitats where they like to nest. 

Image credit: Ondrej Prosicky / Shutterstock.com

The animals that represent Germany

Is it time for an upgrade? Let us know if you think the Alpine marmot or seals of Heligoland, or indeed any other German animal, should get a chance at becoming the next Bundessymbol.

Thumb image credit: Andrew Baum / Shutterstock.com