Charges: Beasts

Among the most prevalent charges to be found are beasts. It is important to remember that the heraldic depiction of an animal does not always match the natural appearance of the beast. A good example of this is the tiger: in ancient armorial examples one will find only the heraldic tyger, a stylized creature which bears little resemblance to a tiger's natural appearance. In more recent coats-of-arms, however, one finds the Bengal tiger, a much more naturalistic presentation of the animal.

When describing an animal it is necessary to blazon not only the creature's type but also the position in which it is presented. These positions are illustrated by the lion and by the stag, for which the various positions are differently named.

Other animals which are occasionally encountered in heraldry but for which we have no illustration currently include:

(Note: If a dog is shown chasing another animal it is said to be "in full chase" or "in full course." A dog with it's nose to the ground is described as "on scent.")

heraldic antelope statant	ape collared and chained	bat	bear passant	bear's head erased and muzzled
boar passant	brock or badger	bull passant	cat-a-mountain passant	greyhound passant
talbot passant	sea-dog	elephant and castle	fox passant	fox's mask
goat passant	horse passant	chevalier on horseback	sea-horse	Pegasus passant
leopard statant	lion passant	lynx coward	otter	coney
hare salient	stag trippant	hind statant	reindeer statant	sheep passant
Pascal lamb	ram statant	ram's head caboshed	fleece	squirrel
heraldic tyger passant	Bengal tiger passant	urcheon	wolf passant	wolf courant

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Positions of Beasts as Exemplified by Lions

Most other animals use the same descriptive terms for their positioning as do lions. The primary exceptions are stags, other members of the deer family, and horses.

passant	passant guardant (top); passant reguardant (bottom)	statant	statant guardant	couchant
rampant	rampant guardant	rampant reguardant	rampant with two heads	two lions rampant combatant
rampant queue-fourché	rampant double queued	rampant, tail nowed	coward	sea lion
salient	sejant	sejant erect	dormant	tricorporate

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Positions of Beasts as Exemplified by Stags

Other animals for which the positioning is described with these terms include other members of the deer family and horses.

trippant	springing	courant	at gaze	lodged
	stag's head caboshed

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