The national animal of South Korea is the Siberian tiger. This is a very important national symbol to the people of South Korea and embodies a great many Korean values. They may sometimes be called Korean tigers by the people of Korea, but the species is the same, though sadly they are no longer found in Korea.
The Siberian tiger, historically and in the present day, has been a very important symbol to the people of South Korea and indeed many cultures in this part of the world.
Tigers are naturally one of nature’s most impressive predators and thus they have always featured heavily in cultural tapestries.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of South Korea?
The national animal of South Korea is the Siberian tiger.
This is a subspecies of broader tiger which is found mostly in East Asia.
Tigers from different regions do not vary a great deal though the Siberian tiger is indeed recognized as a subspecies in itself.
They have gone by a number of names both historically and today, including Amur tiger, Manchurian tiger, Korean tiger and Ussurian tiger.
Naturally, all of these names depended simply on where the animal was observed, though they are all accepted to have been part of the same subspecies.
Like most tigers they are reddish-rusty or yellow rusty in colour, with transverse black stripes across their whole bodies.
They are virtually never less than 59 inches in length, with a skull around 9.8 inches in length and with upper carnassial teeth as long as an inch.
Their bodies are extended and supple and stand on relative short legs.
They usually weigh anywhere from 400 to 675 pounds in males, and anywhere from 220 to 368 pounds in females.
They have unsurprisingly been a target of hunters both historically and in the past and many exceptionally large individuals were often targeted.
They can travel as much as 620 miles over an unbroken country and so population density is naturally fairly low.
They inhabit large hunting territories and are entirely solitary animals except during mating and when females are raising their cubs.
Mothers and their daughters do often share home ranges even after the daughter has reached maturity, though.
They can mate at any time of the year and the female will leave urine deposits and scratch marks to indicate her receptiveness.
At this point, she may spend as much as five or six days with the male.
Why is the Siberian tiger the national animal of South Korea?
The Siberian tiger is the national animal of South Korea for a variety of reasons.
They are of course symbolic of a great many different national values to the people of South Korea and tigers generally are considered to be one of the most culturally significant animals in all human culture.
They embody strength, power, courage and independence, and their great natural charisma in our eyes has only added to the significance they hold symbolically.
One of if not the most powerful big cat in the world, they impose the same awe on just about any human being that lays eyes on them.
On the other hand, then, they are also seen as embodiments of Korean natural beauty.
As recently as the 19th Century, tigers were found throughout the Korean peninsula, and so though they are no longer present in the region today, they are still embodiments of Korean wildlife.
For the very fact that they have disappeared from Korea is another reason they are the national animal; they are a profoundly threatened species, and the government hopes to bring attention to their plight by making them the national animal and promote the conservation of the species.
Where do Siberian tigers live?
Today, Siberian tigers are most commonly found in the Russian Far East, as well as in Northern China.
It is possible that they still inhabit North Korea, though this is extremely difficult to determine for obvious reasons.
They tend to inhabit broadleaf and mixed-leaf forests as well as Korean pine forests.
As mentioned, they can range over as much as 600 miles, so their habitats and distribution can vary a great deal.
They once inhabited a greater range, as mentioned the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, and many other parts of north-eastern China and Siberia.
They may even have occurred as far as we as Mongolia.
What do Siberian tigers eat?
They are ambush predators and tend to hunt ungulates like Manchurian wapiti, Siberian musk deer, long-tailed goral, moose, Siberian roe, wild boar and sometimes even smaller Asian black bears and brown bears.
Sometimes they will also hunt smaller prey like hare, rabbit, pika, and even fish for salmon.
Studies have shown, though, that they generally prefer to hunt the larger ungulates where they can get them.
This represents the greatest reward for the effort of hunting without the potential risks that come with trying to bring down another predator like a bear.
So, though they are sadly no longer present in Korea, they were up until quite recently fairly common across the whole Korean Peninsula.
Even still, they remain among the most important of all natural symbols to the people of Korea, and folk memory certainly preserves the time when tigers were a common sight in the country.
They are and will continue to be the national animal for a long time, no doubt.