Animal of the year

In various countries, nature conservation or environmental associations each year elect an animal of the year , about which information and protection campaigns are carried out over the course of the year.

In Germany, five animal species have repeatedly been named Animal of the Year: red deer , wisent , brown hare , hamster and otter . The brown hare and the lynx were animal of the year in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Several animal species were animal of the year in two of these countries.

Animal of the year in Germany

From 1992 to 2016, the animal of the year was chosen by the German Wildlife Protection Association. In November 2016, the German Wildlife Protection Association became part of the German Wildlife Foundation ; In December 2016, the animal of the year 2017 was jointly determined by the Protection Association of German Wildlife and the German Wildlife Foundation. Since then, the animal of the year has been chosen by the sponsors of the German Wildlife Foundation in order to draw the public's attention to this animal. The selection of the animal of the year is based on the endangerment of the species or its habitat by humans or because it causes a conflict between humans and wild animals; animals that are perceived unilaterally or are unpopular are also chosen as animal of the year.

Since 1992 the following species have been selected as Animal of the Year:

year	German name	scientific name
1992	bat	Microchiroptera
1993	Wild cat	Felis silvestris
1994	Red deer (also 2002 animal of the year)	Cervus elaphus
1995	Apollo butterfly	Parnassius apollo
1996	European hamster (also 2016 animal of the year)	Cricetus cricetus
1997	Alpine Ibex	Capra ibex
1998	toad	Bombina
1999	Otter (also Animal of the Year in 2021)	Lutra lutra
2000	Aesculapian snake	Zamenis longissimus
2001	Brown hare (also 2015 animal of the year)	Lepus europaeus
2002	Red deer (also 1994 animal of the year)	Cervus elaphus
2003	wolf	Canis lupus
2004	Dormouse	Glis glis
2005	brown bear	Ursus arctos
2006	seal	Phoca vitulina
2007	Moose	Alces alces
2008	Wisent or European bison (also 2014 animal of the year)	Bos bonasus
2009	Brown-breasted hedgehog	Erinaceus europaeus
2010	Badger	Meles meles
2011	Eurasian lynx	Lynx lynx
2012	chamois	Rupicapra rupicapra
2013	Mouse weasel	Mustela nivalis
2014	Wisent or European bison (also 2008 animal of the year)	Bos bonasus
2015	Brown hare (also 2001 animal of the year)	Lepus europaeus
2016	European hamster (also 1996 animal of the year)	Cricetus cricetus
2017	Dormouse	Muscardinus avellanarius
2018	European wild cat	Felis silvestris silvestris
2019	deer	Capreolus capreolus
2020	mole	Talpa europaea
2021	Otter (also 1999 Animal of the Year)	Lutra lutra
2022	Common porpoise	Phocoena phocoena

Animal of the year in Switzerland

In Switzerland , the animal of the year is chosen by the Pro Natura organization .

year	German name	scientific name
1998	Tree frog	Hyla arborea
1999	European beaver	Castor fiber
2000	lynx	Lynx lynx
2001	Golden eagle	Aquila chrysaetos
2002	Wood ants	Formica
2003	dovetail	Papilio machaon
2004	Brown hare	Lepus europaeus
2005	Sand lizard	Lacerta agilis
2006	Alpine Ibex	Capra ibex
2007	Grayling	Thymallus thymallus
2008	Banded demoiselle	Calopteryx splendens
2009	brown bear	Ursus arctos
2010	Eucera longicornis	Eucera longicornis
2011	earthworm	Lumbricidae
2012	Brown long-eared	Plecotus auritus
2013	Midwife toad	Alytes obstetricans
2014	Field cricket	Gryllus campestris
2015	grass snake	Natrix natrix
2016	Water shrew	Neomys fodiens
2017	Red deer	Cervus elaphus
2018	ermine	Mustela erminea
2019	Firefly	Lampyris noctiluca
2020	Wild cat	Felis silvestris silvestris
2021	River flea cancer	Gammarus fossarum
2022	Garden dormouse	Eliomys quercinus

Animal of the year in Austria

In Austria, the title of Animal of the Year is awarded by the Austrian Nature Conservation Union.

year	German name	scientific name
2010	Badger	Meles meles
2011	Eurasian lynx	Lynx lynx
2012-2014		no award
2015	Brown hare	Lepus europaeus
2016	European beaver	Castor fiber
2017	wolf	Canis lupus
2018	Brown-breasted hedgehog	Erinaceus europaeus
2019	Wild cat	Felis silvestris silvestris
2020	European mole	Talpa europaea
2021	Dormouse	Glis glis
2022	Eurasian lynx (2.)	Lynx lynx