The national animal of Poland is the white-tailed eagle. This majestic bird of prey is a vital part of Poland’s ecosystem, and has long held symbolic significance to the people of Poland. Today it is the country’s official national animal and among the most iconic members of Poland’s native wildlife.
The white-tailed eagle, then, is of inextricable importance to Poland and Polish culture.
It has been for a very long time and we can presume it will continue to be long into the future.
This fascinating bird of prey is striking by anyone’s standards and so it is easy to see why it has become an important symbol in Poland.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Poland?
The national animal of Poland is the white-tailed eagle.
These birds are also sometimes known as the sea eagle.
They are very large birds of prey distributed very widely across Eurasia, particularly in the more temperate regions.
They are diurnal meaning they spend most of their active hours during the day, as they hunt mostly with eyesight.
They tend to live most of the year close to large bodies of water, whether that’s coastal waters, freshwater lakes, bogs, rivers and wetlands.
This is why they have been known as the sea eagle.
They need old-growth trees to nest in if they cannot do so on ample sea cliffs, which are naturally a lot more abundant.
They were first formally described by modern naturalism in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, a prolific naturalist who taxonomically identified many species in the modern way.
They are one of the biggest living birds of prey today, the largest of any species of eagle found in Europe.
They measure anywhere from 26 to 37 inches in total length and their wingspan can be as wide as eight feet, ranging from around five to eight feet long.
This may give them the largest wingspan of any living eagle.
As the name suggests they have a white tail, though they are mostly mid-brown or greyish over the rest of their plumage.
It’s mostly quite uniform, though the upper wings tend to be paler.
The heads are also somewhat paler and this has, among other things such as the niche they inhabit in terms of hunting, has shown them to be closely related to the bald eagle of North America.
They are highly vocal as birds of prey go, though their screech is not all that impressive.
They will increase in tempo and pitch and there may be as many as 30 calls in a sequence.
Why is the white-tailed eagle the national animal of Poland?
The white-tailed eagle is considered to be the ultimate representation of the strength and power of Poland both today and in the past.
The eagle has been an important Polish symbol for many centuries, since the Piast dynasty adopted it as their symbol in the medieval period.
It has always represented power and authority in Poland.
On the other hand, though, the eagle is of course also a symbol of the power of nature and the importance of Poland’s wilds.
The eagle is an apex predator and essentially king of its own skies, making it a powerful symbol of the extent of nature and of liberty and freedom.
It is certainly no surprise that so many countries choose one eagle or another as their national animal; eagles have virtually always inspired the human imagination and have played a key role in the development of symbolic thinking and art.
The white-tailed eagle in particular, then, embodies many aspects of modern Polish culture not least its connection with its own history.
For perhaps a thousand years the white-tailed eagle has been an embodiment of Polish identity both of its people and its physical landscape.
How rare is a white-tailed eagle?
White-tailed eagles really are not rare at all, and there are estimated to be as many as 50,000 individuals in the wild today.
If you know where to find them, then seeing one shouldn’t be much of a problem at all.
That said, they are not especially common in urban areas, so you will in all likelihood need to go searching in the wild to find one.
But many well-established national parks and trails in Poland make this very easy and so they are really not that rare at all.
They are certainly not endangered, either.
What do white-tailed eagles eat?
White-tailed eagles, as their other name of sea eagle suggests, tend to favor aquatic prey.
They eat a great deal of fish both fresh and saltwater, as well as sometimes molluscs or crustaceans.
At the same time, though, they also hunt the same prey that you would expect most eagles to; small ground mammals like rabbits and hare.
They are also well known to hunt other birds, and will often prey on flocks of smaller birds.
They are diverse in their diet and hunting, then, and this is part of what has made them so successful.
They can adapt very well to just about any environment.
It does, then, seem quite difficult to separate these two from one another.
Poland and the white-tailed eagle are in many ways tightly bound up with one another and inextricable in their mutual relationship.
The people of Poland recognize the white-tailed eagle as a vital national symbol and the eagles themselves favor the Polish landscape for their nesting, hunting and breeding.