The national animal of Austria is the golden eagle. This is one of the most important national symbols in Austria and is seen to embody the national spirit of the people as well as the country’s natural beauty. They have long been featured on stamps and currency and are a common sight in the country.
Golden eagles are vitally important symbols all across Europe and beyond, and it’s easy to see why.
They are among the most majestic birds of prey seen in the world, and they are instantly recognizable.
Mountainous countries like Austria are no stranger to making birds of prey like the golden eagle their national animals.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Austria?
The national animal of Austria is the golden eagle.
This mighty bird of prey is among the most important natural symbols not just in Austria, not even just in Europe, but in vast swathes of Eurasia in general.
Golden eagles, indeed, are the single most widely distributed species of eagle in the world.
They can be found more or less throughout the entire northern hemisphere, including Asia, Europe, and North America.
That said, they have also disappeared from a great deal of their historic range.
They are dark brown with lighter spots of golden plumage, hence their name.
They nest in cliffs usually at very high elevations and may return year after year to the same breeding spot.
They also often mate for life, though not always—in any case, they will usually mate for very long periods of time in the same pairs.
Typically up to four eggs are laid in a cluster, though usually only around one or two survive to adulthood.
They were and have been one of the most popular and highly regarded birds in falconry.
They hold a great deal of mystic and folkloric significance for many cultures and people and this has certainly been retained, to a degree, in modern secular culture.
They were first described by modern naturalism in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, a prolific naturalist who catalogued many species.
There are six acknowledged subspecies of the bird that can be found in various places and are distinguished usually by either size or plumage.
Some modern studies have suggested that the number of subspecies could be reduced to only two, and that these distinctions are fairly trivial.
They remain undoubtedly one of the world’s most famous birds and are very important to Austria in particular. But why?
Why is the golden eagle the national animal of Austria?
The golden eagle is an important symbol of many things in Austria.
The golden eagle is a more or less universal symbol of liberty, freedom, and also strength, power and courage.
They embody the kinds of values that the Austrian people would want to see in themselves and the country they have built and live in.
On the other hand, it’s also important that they embody the country’ natural beauty.
Austria is an alpine country with many vast, idyllic and picturesque landscapes which are perfect habitats for eagles.
The country is famous for these vistas, and it’s hard to disentangle places like this from the golden eagle and indeed eagles in general.
They are very much at home in the steep, rocky cliffs and so they have come to embody all aspects of Austria’s natural beauty.
Though they are not in any immediate danger of extinction, the fact is that they have been driven from a lot of their historic range by human habitation.
Another reason Austria might make the bird its national animal, then, is to draw attention to this fact and attempt to highlight the potentially precarious future that they could have.
What do golden eagles hunt?
Golden eagles are large birds of prey and so they tend mostly to hunt ground squirrels.
This is a family of small rodents which are very common in the kinds of natural ranges it tends to have.
This comprises mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots, though they may hunt other things that are available.
Raising eagle young is a tiresome task and the male and female usually have to alternate constant hunting.
They tend to move around during the year so that they can always have access to prey, though in some areas they may hang around for longer periods of time if they have access to more prey.
Is a golden eagle different to a bald eagle?
The golden eagle and the bald eagle are indeed two different species.
Of course, the most striking difference is the head; bald eagles have a fully white head and usually a fully yellow beak.
Golden eagles do not have different plumage on their heads to the rest of the body, except that the golden feathers tend to be concentrated on the head.
They are roughly the same size, though, so from a distance you would need to be able to see their heads in order to tell them apart.
Bald eagles are also not found over the same massive range as golden eagles.
So, while it’s easy to get this species mixed up with others, once you know the distinctions you’ll be able to tell a golden eagle when you see one.
Certainly in Austria you would know when you had seen a golden eagle and they have become vitally important national symbols for this very reason.
These majestic birds of prey have always captured the human imagination.