The tiger and the Indian peacock

Learning outcome

You can name India’s national animal and national bird, identify their scientific names, and keep the lion on the State Emblem separate from the national animal.

Concepts and reasons

India’s national animal is the tiger, Panthera tigris. The national bird is the Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus. The lion appears on the State Emblem. That does not make the lion the national animal.

The Embassy of India’s national-symbol description uses “Indian race” for the Royal Bengal Tiger. Retain that name when reading this description; do not turn its older wording into a rule about current tiger classification.

How to choose the answer

First identify the category asked for: national animal, national bird, or animal on the emblem. Then match the name to that category. A familiar picture is not enough to answer a different category of question.

Worked examples

1. An item asks for India’s national animal and offers tiger or lion. Choose tiger. Lion is tempting because it appears on the emblem, but the question asks for the national animal.
2. A matching item pairs “national animal — Indian peacock” and “national bird — tiger”. Both pairs are reversed. Repair them to “national animal — tiger” and “national bird — Indian peacock”.
3. An item gives Pavo cristatus and asks which symbol it identifies. Choose the Indian peacock, the national bird. Panthera tigris identifies the tiger instead.

Common traps

Do not substitute the lion for the tiger just because the emblem is familiar. “Indian peacock” is the precise common name to remember alongside its scientific name. Royal Bengal Tiger and tiger are compatible names in this national-symbol context, not two competing national animals.

Practice questions

1. What is India’s national animal?
2. What is India’s national bird?
3. Match the names: Panthera tigris; Pavo cristatus. Which identifies the national bird?
4. A learner says, “The lion appears on the emblem, so it is India’s national animal.” What is wrong with that inference?

Answers and explanations

1. The tiger. The national-symbol description also names the Royal Bengal Tiger.
2. The Indian peacock.
3. Pavo cristatus identifies the Indian peacock. Panthera tigris identifies the tiger.
4. The learner has mixed two categories. An animal’s appearance on the State Emblem does not determine the national-animal designation; the national animal is the tiger.

References

• Embassy of India, Khartoum: National Symbols
• Embassy of India, Ashgabat: national-symbol description

Analogy

Think of three labelled boxes: “national animal”, “national bird” and “animal on the State Emblem”. Put tiger in the first, Indian peacock in the second and lion in the third. Moving a name to the wrong box changes the answer, even though the animal itself is familiar.

Quick reference

• National animal: tiger.
• National bird: Indian peacock.
• The lion on the emblem is not the national animal.