The national animal of Ghana is the tawny eagle. This is a bird that represents protection and strength to the people of Ghana and thus has become a very important national symbol. They are distributed widely across Africa and are important to many African cultures, though their continued survival is threatened.
Eagles are important symbols all over the world. In all times and places, eagles seem to have played some role in the mythological and symbolic cultures of the people who lived near them.
This is just as true in Ghana as it is anywhere, so let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Ghana?
The national animal of Ghana is the tawny eagle.
This bird of prey is and has been an important symbol to the people of Ghana for a very long time, and that importance is in no way diminished in the modern age.
Tawny eagles are large birds of prey, with heavily feathered legs marking it as part of the family known popularly as booted eagles.
They have a very extensive breeding range, constituting a great deal of Africa as well as parts of the Indian subcontinent.
They most commonly live in dry and open habitats like semideserts, desert steppes, and savanna plains.
They are resident breeders, laying clutches of one to three eggs in a nest which is usually made in the crown of a tree from sticks.
They are among the most opportunistic of eagles, very commonly scavenging on carrion or engaging in what is known as kleptoparasitism.
This means they essentially steal the prey of other, small animals which cannot defend against the large eagle.
That said, they are also very active hunters of a wide variety of prey.
They have a long neck and a deep bill, with moderately long wings.
They are usually more brightly colored, with a light sand color to most of their plumage.
They can, though, also be much darker, and there are multiple subspecies that may exhibit different morphological traits.
They are very close relatives of the golden eagle.
Unfortunately, precipitous declines have been noted in most of their range and they are currently categorized as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
This is down to a number of factors like loss of habitat, persecution, and global warming.
Serious efforts will need to be undertaken to ensure the continued survival of this species.
Why is the tawny eagle the national animal of Ghana?
The tawny eagle is the national animal of Ghana for a number of reasons.
On the one hand, they play a very important symbolic role in the modern Ghanaian mindset.
They are symbols of many things: strength, courage, and perhaps most importantly freedom.
Eagles are very often symbols of liberty in this way, soaring high in the skies as they do, free to roam over such a wide range as they are.
On the other hand, they are also seen as very important embodiments of Ghana’s natural beauty.
The eagle in this way is important in Africa generally, but it particularly embodies many parts of Ghana’s open plains and wide areas for which its people know it.
So, in that regard, it is a more literal embodiment of the country.
Finally, though, there is the question of conservation.
As mentioned, the tawny eagle is under grave threat, and could go extinct in the coming decades if serious efforts are not undertaken to preserve them.
One part of any conservation effort is always awareness, and so by making it the national animal, you bring attention to its precarious position and help, even if only in a small way, future conservation efforts.
How long do tawny eagles live for?
It can naturally vary a lot and it’s often difficult to say with such a widely distributed animal, but general estimates suggest that the tawny eagle can live for about 16 years if all the conditions are right.
However, a tawny eagle in the wild that was as old as 60 years has been officially recorded, so plainly that can live for much longer.
It depends, then, on many factors, and usually, they will not live for more than 20 years; but they plainly have many years in them if the conditions are met.
How do you identify a tawny eagle?
The tawny eagle can be identified by the long gape line that stops at the center of the eye.
They have short, heavily feathered legs and slit-shaped nostrils, as well as the paler hood and dark body that they often have.
Given the variation in plumage shade, as mentioned, it can be difficult, not to mention the fact that adults are often a lot lighter than juveniles.
Identifying birds typically comes best with experience, as there are many other eagles in the region which do look very similar to the tawny eagle.
The light head, and the boots on the legs, as well as the gape line, are the best indicators.
So, again, there are simply few animals, even considering the whole world, that have had as strong and as prevalent an impact on the human imagination as eagles.
When it comes to Ghana, the eagle which has most captured peoples’ minds is the tawny eagle, and to this day it is a very important symbol of strength, courage, pride, protection and freedom to the people of Ghana.
We can only hope that efforts are seriously undertaken to ensure their continued survival.