Unusually, Monaco has three national animals: the hedgehog, European rabbit, and the wood mouse. All three of these animals are very important to the people of Monaco in a variety of ways and each embodies some important aspect of Monacan life and culture. Three small animals represent this small principality.
Most countries designate a single official national animal, if they designate one at all.
Monaco, though, chose to pick three small mammals as their national animals.
Monaco is an unusual little state in a number of ways and for this reason among others the choice of national animals becomes a bit clearer.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Monaco?
While most countries, if they have one at all, do tend to designate a single animal as their national animal, Monaco has instead chosen three members of its local wildlife as its national animals: the hedgehog, the European rabbit, and the wood mouse.
There is no single, official reason why multiple animals have been chosen as Monaco’s national animals as opposed to just one, so you may be disappointed if you’re looking for a straight answer to explain the difference between this and other countries.
To start with, let’s look at the hedgehog.
There are many species of hedgehog, but the broader family is known as Erinaceinae in the scientific community.
There are seventeen species found in Europe, Asia and Africa natively, as well as those introduced by humans in New Zealand.
They are most recognizable by their spines, which are made of keratin and rather like stiff, hollow hairs.
They are not poisonous and do not easily detach, unlike the porcupine, though they are used for defense against predators.
They will roll into a tight ball for defense which means all of their spines are pointing outwards.
Next, the European rabbit.
This is a species native to the Iberian Peninsula and western France, as well as the northern region of the Atlas Mountains.
They are small mammals with long ears that move via a short hop, and they are well known for digging networks of burrows where they spend most of their time. they may live in groups of up to ten individuals, as living in smaller groups gives better breeding success.
These animals are among the most iconic in Europe and feature prominently in folklore and legend.
Finally, the wood mouse.
These, again, are native to Europe and northwest Africa, and they are an extremely common and widespread species throughout Europe.
They are mostly active during the night and it’s generally assumed that this aids them in avoiding predators.
They eat mostly seeds like the seeds of oak, beech, ash, lime, and sycamore trees.
They will carry these seeds back to their burrows for storage if they are plentiful.
They are predated by foxex, snakes, weasels, owls and other birds of prey, among other animals.
Why, then, is each of these creatures considered a national animal in Monaco?
Why is the hedgehog a national animal of Monaco?
The hedgehog is a very important symbolic animal in many parts of Europe.
They are often seen as symbols of self-protection, as well as intricate self-work.
They are small and unassuming and yet well able to defend themselves against dangerous predators and are often simply left alone due to their spines which make catching them more trouble than it’s worth.
They are also often seen as images of harmony: in Monaco, many consider them to be such important parts of the local wildlife that ecosystems may have been disproportionately affected were they to be entirely removed.
Hedgehogs are important symbols in a number of different ways, then.
Why is the rabbit a national animal of Monaco?
Rabbits are a similar story to hedgehogs.
They have a long history of associated symbolism in Europe and indeed many parts of the world.
Due to their success in breeding, they are often seen as symbols of fertility and prosperity, and this to a degree has carried forward into modern Monacan life.
The rabbit is an important element, also, of the physical landscape of Monaco; they are among the most common wildlife to sight in the city-state and thus they are both a literal and symbolic image to the people of the state.
They, too, have a disproportionate effect on the local ecosystems.
Why is the wood mouse a national animal of Monaco?
Mice, finally, may be the most inconspicuous of all mammals, but they are nonetheless very important symbolically to many European cultures including in modern day Monaco.
They are seen as images of detail and the intricacies of the natural world, as even though they are so small they are still just as important to the overall picture as the largest predator.
Mice again have played a big role in European folklore and fairy tales, and in part this may even be due to the fascination children often have with them.
Mice make great anthropomorphic story characters and remind people to remain humble in the face of success or change.
So, again, Monaco is very unusual in a number of ways.
It is a sovereign city-state rather than an outright country in its own right, though it is self-governing and there are nation-states that are of comparable size to Monaco.
They have chosen three national animals to represent their country and each embodies a different aspect of Monacan life, but all come together to form a unity at the same time.