National animal

The NationStates game requires one to enter a national animal as one of the customisable fields along with national motto and currency. In addition to its direct game function as a variable used in Daily Issues, it has some potential for roleplay applications.

Game

Any alphanumeric combination, with or without spaces, is acceptable. An entry consisting entirely of spaces or including any additional characters such as an apostrophe, solidus or dollar sign will not be accepted. The animal is construed in the singular. According to the mods, people or groups of people may not be used as national animals. Ignore these rulings at your peril.

This field is used in issues, so one might consider one's choice of animal in light of its display in these Daily Issues. Firstly, it will construe all nouns as having regular English plurals, e.g., "Ox" will display as "Oxs" not "Oxen," "Mouse" will display as "Mouses" not "Mice," "Octopus" as "Octopuss" not "Octopuses" or "Octopi" (feel free to join in the debate over correct English, Latin and Greek plurals!), "Sheep" as "Sheeps" not "Sheep."

Secondly, many uses of the variable are intended to refer to land mammals such as in the dreaded hybridisation of the national animal. There are exceptions to this, such as the "Crazy [national animal]" ringtone on cellular phones. You may, of course, specifically adopt water animals, reptiles, flying animals or space creatures for comical effect.

Roleplaying

As with most customisable fields, national animal allows one to make a statement about their country. Pending a representative survey, the following are unscientific observations made by Sober Thought based on nearly a year of playing the game and being involved in recruiting.

A cursory look at national animals indicates a strong showing for the great cats. These are classic national animals suggesting power, grace, strength and royalty and are frewquently used by heraldry even in countries where the real animals are not native. Lions, tigers, leopards and already-hybridised ligers prevail, the reason for the latter is unknown.

Domestic pets are also fairly common, with a stronger showing for domestic cats rather than dogs, and a sprinkling of other pets like hamsters, rats, tarantulas and lizards. Often these pets are specified as young animals, e.g., kitty, puppy, baby mouse. If so, these creatures are likely to appear on customised flags.

Exotic animals from the Antipodes are also surprisingly common, led by the unusual looking duckbilled platypus and the kangaroo. Although Max Barry is an Australian, the overrepresentation of such a rare, non-heraldic animal is perplexing considering the large number of North Americans playing the game.

The final class of animals that seems to be especially popular among players is birds. Eagles, with similar connotations to great cats and closely associated with the United States, are ahead of the pack or rather flock. However, ducks, chickens, owls and falcons are commonly encountered as well.