All states have official animals, plants, emblems, and more. While you might assume that each of these categories has one item representing it, that’s actually not the case. In fact, Washington State has six official animals. Let’s check them out.
Each of these animals represents six different categories, technically seven if you count the last category, although that hasn’t officially been decided on. So the next time your friends try to quiz you on some Washington State history, see if they know all of our state animals.
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Amphibian: Pacific chorus frog
Endemic Mammal: Olympic marmot
Marine Mammal: Orca
Bird: Willow, or American goldfinch, aka “wild canary”
Insect: Green darner dragonfly
Fish: Steelhead trout
Mollusk (Undecided): Banana slug
What’s extra cool about these designations is that the majority of the animals on the list were made official thanks to a push from local students across the state. Others like the goldfinch have been a designation since the 1950s. If you want to be a part of state history you could always try to get some signatures and have Washingtonians decide on the official mollusk.
Until then, rack your brain and see if you’ve had the experience of seeing all of these animals out in the wild. Enjoy folks!
