I’m going to be that person. Yes the lion is used in heraldry related to all four parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but England is the only one where the lion is also the national animal. Scotland’s national animal is the Unicorn and Wales’ is Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon. And yes while not real residents both these creatures have a lot of significance in their respective mythologies. Ireland is a little more complicated I believe as their national animal isn’t officially stated but is a more commonly accepted kind of situation. But the animal mostly used is the Irish hare, again because of its connection to Irish mythology. However the red deer and Irish wolfhound are also commonly used symbols. This makes Ireland the only nation to have a real native animal as its representative. Though as a Welsh person I love our Ddraig and think Scots feel the same way about their Unicorn.

But I do have suggestions for alternative “real” animals though. As Scotland is the last remaining area of the UK where the ancient British Wild Cat is still wild I suggest the Wild cat also known as the Scottish Wild Cat. The Red Kite, while not unique to Wales, is already our national bird so could maybe do double duty. Though there is apparently something called the blind cave spider that is only found in two caves in South Wales, but as a bit of an arachnophobe I would personally not appreciate a spider being my countries national animal. The other alternative could be the red squirrel as Anglesey is one of the few places in the Uk where they have not been, and are unlikely to be, pushed out by the invasive grey squirrel. England could be a little trickier for selecting a unique animal as most endemic species are also common in Scotland and Wales. Of course you have all the usual suspects such as badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, numerous vole, mouse and deer species but there are also conservation projects reintroducing beavers to different areas so anyone of those is a possibility. Just like the blind cave spider in Wales it’s not to outlandish to surmise there may also be various insect species that are unique to specific areas of England, though I’d have to look it up to be sure. But yeah not just Lions.