The national animal of Belgium is the lion, unofficially. This has been an important heraldic symbol for centuries in the country and remains a vital aspect of national iconography. Though there are of course no lions in Belgium, the big cat was a favorite of medieval heraldry in Europe and many countries used it.
The national animal of Belgium, then, is more about its role in the country’s historical and present-day heraldry than about Belgium’s actual natural landscape.
Nonetheless, the lion is indeed a very important image to the people of Belgium and has been for at least a thousand years.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Belgium?
The national animal of Belgium is the lion.
This is only somewhat officially recognized as it has been an important feature of Belgian heraldry for many long centuries, but it is not recognized as the national animal in the same way that other countries recognize their national animals.
Furthermore, it is also different as you may not be surprised to learn, lions are not a part of Belgium’s natural wildlife—but more on that later.
In any case, the lion is for many reasons a very important part of Belgian iconography.
It is often called the Leo Belgicus, or the Belgian lion, and has for a long time been a heraldic animal used to represent what is called the Benelux, which is a politico-economic union between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Heraldic lions have also been used by many noble and royal houses of Belgium both today and from at least as early as the medieval period.
There are multiple different Belgian lions used depending on the kind of heraldry in question.
The federal government uses a golden lion on a black coat of arms and this is perhaps the official national coat of arms of Belgium.
However, others use the black lion, such as the Flag of Flanders and the Flemish lion.
The German-speaking population of Belgium also has their own red lion as their particular coat of arms.
So, as you can see, lions are really important images in Belgium and are not to be understood in the more literal way that animals act as national animals in other places.
They play a much more symbolic role and in many ways the simple fact is that the lion is among the most instantly recognizable creatures in the world, even when in a stylized form in heraldry.
Why is the lion the national animal of Belgium?
The lion is the national animal of Belgium for a number of reasons, though it’s important to stress that they are not the official national animal.
They are in all but name since they are used in so many different aspects of Belgian symbolism and iconography.
It is simply that they are not officially recognized by a present governing body as the country’s national animal.
Lions are among the most symbolically significant animals in the world in many different regions.
They are mostly limited to Africa now though in the past they had a wide range in Eurasia too.
Among medieval houses in Europe, the lion was seen as among the most powerful predators in nature, and symbols of power were always an important part of national heraldry.
So, the lion is not seen in any way to embody the natural beauty or landscape of Belgium in a literal sense.
Belgium is of course a beautiful and diverse country with lots of wildlife, but the fact is that none have been as important to the country’s symbolic history as the lion.
Having been an important piece of heraldic symbolism for the better part of a millennia, it’s worth exploring what heraldry is.
What is heraldry?
Heraldry is the use, display, and regulation of symbols that distinguish armies, people, and sometimes corporations and institutions.
In the past, they were an absolutely vital aspect of noble ruling families, and in Europe, they were featured very prominently on things like armor, flags, and other adornments and items of clothing.
Many countries or local noble families used lions in their heraldry, Belgium included.
They were embodiments of the power of ruling families and were meant to be instantly recognizable even from a long distance.
Heraldry continues to be of symbolic importance to legacy noble families in Europe.
Are there lions in Belgium?
There are no lions in Belgium, at least outside of zoos.
Lions have never existed in Belgium, at least as far as we know, and certainly not in human memory.
They did indeed once have a much wider range which covered a lot of Europe, but they had retreated out of Europe almost entirely before the end of prehistory.
So, again, though the lion is a very important symbol in Belgium, it was always an embodiment of something quite particular to certain ruling families.
Heraldry in this sense was very rarely a particularly literal game.
So, unlike most countries, Belgium has opted for an entirely symbolic national animal.
The lion is a heraldic symbol rather than an actual member of Belgian wildlife.
Nonetheless, it has been just as important a symbol in Belgium as would any animal which actually lives there.
Though it remains only semi-official as the country’s national animal, it is seen by most Belgian people as the single most important natural symbol of the country among other things like the poppy.