The national animal of Slovakia is the brown bear. This is a very common choice of national animal and it is easy to see why. They are symbolically and spiritually very important to the people of Slovakia and are seen as one of the most important members of the national wildlife.
The brown bear, then, being present in Slovakia, made a perfectly natural choice of national animal.
They are widely considered to be one of the most important members of the country’s national wildlife and they are completely inextricable from many local ecosystems in Slovakia.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Slovakia?
The national animal of Slovakia is the brown bear, specifically the Eurasian brown bear.
Brown bears are found throughout Eurasia and North America and are separated into a number of subspecies.
There are a number of further subspecies distinguishing populations of Eurasian brown bear, but generally, the Eurasian brown bear is considered the last necessary subdivision of the brown bear species.
Eurasian brown bears are one of the most common of all brown bear species, and they are also known as the common bear or European brown bear.
They have brown fur which can range from yellowish-brown to dark brown and even black.
They have dense fur though again the exact density can vary depending on the conditions of the local population.
They have round heads and small, rounded ears, with a wide skull and 42 teeth in their powerful jaws.
Their large paws can grow as large as 3.9 inches and weight will vary a great deal depending on their habitat.
A full-grown, male bear can weigh anywhere from 550 to 660 pounds.
Their weight will also vary throughout the year as they hibernate and then come out to gorge, so a male adult can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds at certain times of year.
They can be found throughout northern Europe today as well as extensively throughout Russia and northern Asia.
Their historical range was much greater and they were found in a much larger area of Europe, but for a variety of reasons they have been considerably pushed back over the centuries.
They can live in varying habitats and at varying elevations, but they prefer deciduous forests and more temperate climates.
They can also thrive in very cold regions like Siberia.
They are not as common in Slovakia as they once were but are still found there in large numbers.
Why is the brown bear the national animal of Slovakia?
The brown bear is the national animal of Slovakia for a number of reasons.
On the one hand, they hold huge symbolic significance in a number of different ways.
The bear is almost universally, but especially in Slovakia, considered to be a symbol of power, strength, courage and bravery, among the most powerful apex predators in the world that entirely dominate their habitats.
Few animals can rival them in strength, and so they are seen to be among the clearest images of raw power in the animal world.
This is one of the most important aspects of their choice as the national animal in Slovakia.
On the other hand, they are more literally seen as embodiments of the natural beauty of Slovakia.
Much of Slovakia’s landscape is dominated by mountain slopes and forests, the natural home of the Eurasian brown bear.
So, few animals could so well embody the raw power of the physical Slovakian landscape as the brown bear.
People may have different views on this question, though, within Slovakia itself.
You may get very different answers depending on whom you ask, but one thing is clear: the bear is a symbol of power.
Is the brown bear the same as the grizzly bear?
The grizzly bear is a subspecies of brown bear in the same way that the Eurasian brown bear is.
So, the Eurasian brown bear and the grizzly bear are not the same, though they are members of the same species.
Grizzly bears are generally found in North America, whereas Eurasian brown bears are of course found in Eurasia.
So, again, all grizzly bears are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzly bears.
There are morphological and even genetic differences that set the two subspecies apart, though they are clearly more similar than different.
What do brown bears eat?
Brown bears eat a varied diet of both plants and animals.
They will eat a lot of plants, and berries, as well as a lot of fish and small mammals.
Again, it will depend a great deal on the species and the population, but they will eat just about anything nutrient-rich that they can get their hands on.
Fish are great for fattening up after the long winter’s hibernation, while plants and berries are great for foraging.
They will sometimes catch small mammals, though they generally do not hunt larger creatures like deer.
Plants, berries, and fish usually make up the bulk of a brown bear’s diet.
So, again, it is hard to imagine a more powerful and striking animal symbol out of Slovakia than the brown bear.
This animal is one of the most iconic not just in this region but in the whole world and has held huge cultural significance for many nations and peoples over time.
Without them, the nation’s ecology would look extremely different in Slovakia, and so they have served as the national animal.