Below you can find a complete list of Finnish animals. We currently track 241 animals in Finland and are adding more every day!
Finland is a Nordic country with long, cold winters and short, rainy summers. Its border with Russia makes it one of the coldest countries in its region. Finnish animals like the arctic fox, gray seal, brown bear, snowy owl, wolverine, and European otter adapt well to this cold climate. Reindeer are the most famous animals native to this country.
National Animal of Finland
The Eurasian brown bear is the national animal of this country. Ancient Finns considered brown bears sacred, and bears are still an important cultural icon.
The whooper swan is the national bird of Finland. Weighing in at 26 to 31 pounds, it is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.
Where To Find The Top Wildlife in Finland
There are many opportunities to see Finnish animals. There are 40 national parks, and all are free to enter and open year-round. These include Nuuksio National Park, Oulanka National Park, and Lemmenjoki National Park.
You can see lynx, great gray wolves, bears, Siberian jays, ermines, minks, and otters in all these wild areas.
Many reindeer farmers offer tours and reindeer rides. These are especially popular during the Christmas season.
The Most Dangerous Animals In this country
The most dangerous animals in Finland are moose, which kill about 100 people in Finland each year. Although moose are not aggressive, they can be dangerous when provoked or protecting their young.
Endangered and Extinct Animals from Finland
Finnish forest reindeer is a rare and threatened subspecies of reindeer. The Finnish and Russian governments are working to restore their populations.
The Saimaa ringed seal is found only in Finland’s Lake Saima. This endangered seal is the rarest species of seal in the world.
The North Atlantic right whale and North Atlantic gray whale are extinct animals from Finland.
Finland’s rugged climate has created a unique ecosystem of animals that thrive in the cold. You can see many Finnish animals in Finland’s forests and national parks.
The Finnish Flag
The flag of Finland is made up of a white background with a Nordic cross on it. While the blue cross embodies the thousands of lakes and bodies of water scattered across Finland, the white color symbolizes Finland’s white winters, with snow encapsulating the entire country.
Finnish Animals
Stunningly beautiful wings
First evolved 100 million years ago!
Arctic char is the northern-most fish; no other fish lives anywhere further north!
Extremely thick winter fur!
They are so named because they "march" in armies of worms from one crop to another in search of food
Asian lady beetles infest indoor spaces, but they do not reproduce indoors.
One of the most popular food fishes in the world
Extinct ancestor of all domesticated cattle!
Has a curved, upturned beak!
Can reach speeds of 30 km/h!
Found everywhere around the world!
Older offspring help care for new hatchlings.
Detects prey using echolocation!
Builds a dam from sticks and leaves!
Bed bugs feed for 4-12 minutes.
Rock paintings of bees date back 15,000 years
There are more than 350,000 different species
Not all birds are able to fly!
The biscuit beetle form a symbiotic relationship with yeast
They typically prey on insects!
The feathers on the feet of tiny Booted Bantam chickens can reach up to six inches in length!
A dominant predator in it's environment!
Can live its entire life indoors
The most common species of bee!
There are thought to be up 17,500 species!
The camel crickets that are found in the USA are light brown in color. They also have dark streaks all over their body.
Males and females grow antlers
Carpenter ants can lift up to seven times their own weight with their teeth!
May have been domesticated up to 10,000 years ago.
The larvae of a moth or butterfly!
There are nearly 3,000 different species!
Cave bears may have been worshiped by primitive humans.
There are about 3,000 documented species!
Natively found in the European mountains!
First domesticated more than 10,000 years ago!
Dated to be around 300 million years old!
Pupae are able to undergo diapause to survive poor fruit yield years and winter.
The most common raptor in the UK!
European adders are the only snake that lives above the Arctic Circle.
Found throughout the European continent!
The common furniture beetle feeds exclusively on wood
House spiders have the ability to eat most insects in a home.
Also known as the Great Northern Diver
A group of ravens is called an unkindness or a conspiracy.
Most active in wet weather!
They can fly 35 mph and dive 150 feet below water.
There are nearly 1.5 billion worldwide!
There are 93 different crab groups
Crab Spiders can mimic ants or bird droppings
Many are critically endangered species!
A group of these birds is called a Murder.
There are around 40 different species!
First domesticated in South-East Asia!
Dog ticks feed on dogs and other mammals
First domesticated 5,000 years ago!
Found in Europe, Africa and Asia!
It's larvae are carnivorous!
Rows of tiny plates line their teeth!
The dung beetle can push objects many times its own weight
Has exceptional eyesight!
They are hermaphrodites, which means they have male and female organs
There are nearly 2,000 different species!
Are known to guard the muddy banks!
Eels can be a mere few inches long to 13 feet!
Eiders are sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and more colorful.
A very bold and ferocious predator!
The shy eurasian bullfinch prefers to forage very close to cover.
The Eurasian Eagle-owl is the second largest owl in the world with a wingspan up to six feet!
The Eurasian jay has the ability to mimic other sounds
Its song has been compared to a toy horn.
They are frequent visitors to backyard feeders, especially those containing niger seeds.
Male robins are so aggressive and territorial that they will attack their own reflections.
The fastest creatures on the planet!
The fallow deer has more variation in its coat colors than most other deer.
False spiders actually prey on black widow spiders and other hazardous spiders
Ferrets can be trained to do tricks like dogs!
The Finnish Lapphund was bred to herd reindeer!
Found across mainland Europe and Asia!
The firefly produces some of the most efficient light in the world
Adult fleas can jump up to 7 inches in the air
There are more than 240,000 different species!
Can glide up to 90 meters!
Only 12 species are considered "true foxes"
There are around 7,000 different species!
Fruit flies are among the most common research animals in the world
The most common type of urban roach
Found inhabiting dense woodland and caves!
Males form large mating swarms at dusk
Most closely related to the Sheep!
The goldcrest never starts moving and needs to consume for most of the day to survive. Therefore, in the colder months, it's best that eat 90% a day.
Their calls sound like high-pitched screams, but they are quiet most of the time.
Migrates between Europe and Asia!
There are 29 different species!
There are 11,000 known species!
One of the most invasive species in the world
Able to run as quickly backwards as forwards!
Surprisingly, not a dolphin!
Can reach speeds of over 50 mph!
Many hawk moth caterpillars eat toxins from plants, but don’t sequester them the way milkweed butterflies do. Most toxins are excreted.
Thought to be one of the oldest mammals on Earth!
Inhabits wetlands around the world!
Natively found in the Scottish Highlands!
There are only 8 recognized species!
Honey buzzards are medium-sized raptors that earned their names by raiding the nests of bees and wasps.
Stunning bird with a stinky way to deter predators!
Has evolved over 50 million years!
Horseflies have been seen performing Immelmann turns, much like fighter jets.
Thought to have orignated 200,000 years ago!
Some huntsman spiders have an interesting way of moving around. Some cartwheel while others do handsprings or backflips.
There are an estimated 30 million species!
Some can jump 50 times the length of their bodies
The species name, spectabilis, is Latin for “showy” or “remarkable,” referencing the attractiveness of the adult male’s plumage.
Inhabits wetlands and woodlands worldwide!
There are more than 5,000 species worldwide!
This breed is also known as the Lapp Reindeer Dog and the Lapsk Vallhund.
Does not hibernate during the bitter Arctic winter!
While linnets are monogamous during mating season, they do not mate for life. While breeding pairs are together, the males are highly territorial and will defend the nesting site and the surrounding area.
There are around 5,000 different species!
Have sharp spines below their eyes
Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day.
Ear tufts make it look bigger!
Often hangs upside down while feeding!
They are found across Europe, Asia and Africa!
They have a symbiotic relationship with ants.
They line their nests with their feathers
Some species have a poisonous bite!
Primarily hunts and feeds on Earthworms!
Has characteristics of two or more breeds!
Feeds on aquatic insects and water-spiders!
Renews it's enormous antlers every year!
Only the female mosquito actually sucks blood
There are 250,000 different species!
Found on every continent on Earth!
The offspring of a horse and donkey parents!
Roamed Asia and Europe for around 100,000 years!
Nematodes range in size from 1/10 of an inch to 28 feet long
Able to regrow lost or damaged limbs!
Named more than 1,000 years ago!
There are more than 5,000 species.
Getting your hands on one of these pups might be a challenging task. At one point, the breed was on the brink of extinction.
Northern pintails migrate at night with speeds reaching 48 miles per hour!
Depending on the habitat and climate, these beetles can live between 2 to 10 years, often staying in their larval stage for several years, making them extremely dangerous to wooden structures.
Females are about four times the size of males
The tradition of hiding your face with a napkin or towel while eating this bird was begun by a priest who was a friend of the great French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.
They reuse nesting sites for 70 years!
There are 13 different species worldwide
The owl can rotate its head some 270 degrees
Females lay between 8 and 12 eggs per clutch!
Thought to have been domesticated in 9,000 BC!
They can find their way back to their nests from up to 1300 miles away.
Found in mountainous regions and rocky areas
A pine marten can jump from tree to tree similar to a squirrel.
The smallest of the North American salmon
Could be extinct within the next 30 years!
There are 500 different species!
The rarest amphibian in the UK!
There are 30 different species worldwide!
Can remain in the water for up to 2 minutes!
Inhabits deciduous forests!
Caterpillars squirt formic acid!
Inhabits woodland and forest areas worldwide!
There are more than 300 different species!
Known to wash their food before eating it!
The only hibernating canine!
Omnivores that eat anything!
This bird moves its tail to steer its body like a rudder on a boat.
They build their nests off the ground in tree holes, cavities, stone walls, and roofs
Also known as the Caribou
Inhabits freshwater habitats around the world!
There are more than 45 species in Australia alone!
The capybara, the world’s largest rodent, likes to be in and around bodies of water. Because of this, the Catholic Church in South America decided that it was a fish, and people were allowed to eat it during Lent and First Fridays.
Will mate with the entire flock!
Its scientific name, lagopus, is Ancient Greek for “hare” and “foot,” referring to its feathered feet and toes.
Ferrets were used during the Revolutionary War to keep down the rat population.
There are more than 700 different species!
The sand crab burrows beneath the sand with its tail
Males turn green in spring!
There are around 2,000 known species!
The sea eagle tends to mate for life with a single partner
Males give birth to up to 1,000 offspring!
Around 35 million in the English countryside!
The short-eared owl is one of the most widespread owl species in the world, covering five continents.
The spinal column of the shrew Scutisorex somereni is so strong and reinforced that it can support the weight of an adult human.
There are 2,000 different species worldwide!
Some skinks lay eggs in some habitats while giving birth to skinklets in other habitats.
Found widely throughout British gardens!
They glide around on one foot, which is aided by the slime they produce
Has up to 45 eggs per egg case
There are nearly 1,000 different species!
There are around 4,000 known species worldwide
One of the largest owl species in the world!
A male song thrush can have over 100 phrases in his repertoire of songs and can imitate pet birds, telephones and other man-made objects.
They spend most of their time underground!
There are 140 different species!
They prey on spiders to feed their larvae or they parasitize other spider wasps.
Small rodents found in woodlands worldwide!
There are more than 3,000 different species!
Average adults weigh about 200 grams!
They can’t sing like other birds.
Populations have been affected by pollution!
Swedish Elkhounds existed in prehistoric times!
The most widespread owl in Europe!
Their mounds can be up to 9 meters tall!
The American robin is called the robin because its red breast reminded European settlers of the robin back in the old country.
They inject hosts with a chemical that stops them from feeling the pain of the bite
The adult tiger beetle is one of the fastest land insects in the world
The bright colors of this moth are a signal to predators that it has a terrible taste.
Can live until they are more than 150 years old!
Found in warmer jungles and forests!
Some species of aquatic turtles can get up to 70 percent of their oxygen through their butt.
The Ural owl can rotate its head up to 270 degrees
Vipers are one of the most widespread groups of snakes and inhabit most
There are 30 different species worldwide!
There are around 75,000 recognised species!
Has been domesticated for thousands of years!
The largest Vole species in the UK!
The smallest carnivorous mammal in the world!
There are two different types of white ferrets!
Males have a top tusk to sharpen the bottom one!
This bird molts twice a year.
Thought to date back more than 300,000 years!
Carnivorous arachnid that hunts its prey.
Releases a strong smelling musk in defence!
This animal can roll up into a ball
Unlike most spiders, woodlouse spiders don’t build a web.
There are 200 different species!
The woolly rhinoceros roamed the earth between three and a half million and 14,000 years ago.
They feign death by making their bodies limp and closing their eyes.
They follow after seals and whales to eat their scraps.
It interbreeds with the pine bunting
Finnish Animals List