Species of the year

The species of the year receives more attention throughout the year

Every year, natural scientists and environmentalists select new species to be introduced during the year. The animal of the year is selected (so far, only mammals have been selected), but also the bird, tree, fish, butterfly, orchid, moss, and fungus, as well as soil of the year. By being named the species of the year, the species receives more attention throughout the year – introducing the species in the media and nature education programmes helps increase people’s awareness of nature and nature conservation.

ROE DEER. Roe deer was the Estonian animal of the year 2017. By: Adami — ROE DEER. *Roe deer was the Estonian animal of the year 2017. By: Karl Adami*

The animal of the year is the title given to the animal species and its selection in Estonia is organized by MTÜ Aasta Loom in cooperation with the Estonian Theriological Society, the Estonian Society for Nature Conservation, the Estonian Hunters’ Society, Tallinn Zoo, Estonian Private Forest Centre, and the Estonian Museum of Natural History. The animal of the year was first chosen in 2013 and the wolf was the first to receive the title. In the following years, the animals of the year have been the ringed seal (2014), wild boar (2015), badger (2016), roe deer (2017), lynx (2018), beaver (2019), bat (2020), rat (2021), brown bear (2022) and Siberian flying squirrel (2023). In 2024 the Eurasian otter was chosen as the animal of the year.

The bird of the year is chosen by the Estonian Ornithological Society. The first bird of the year was the corn crake (1995); in 2024, the bird species of the year is the common cuckoo. An overview of all birds of the year can be found here.

The idea to choose the tree of the year comes from Professor Viktor Masing and it has been chosen since 1996, when juniper was the first to receive the title. The magazine Eesti Loodus organises the selection and everyone can send their opinion via the Internet. Over the years, more than 20 Estonian woody plants have already been named the tree of the year – the tree of the year 2024 is the pedunculate oak.

The butterfly of the year has been chosen by the Estonian Society of Lepidopterologists since 2014, and the following species have earned the title: 2014 – peacock butterfly, 2015 – Pericallia matronula, 2016 – clouded Apollo, 2017 – blue underwing, 2018 – common yellow swallowtail, 2019 – Pterotopteryx dodecadactyla, 2020 – marsh fritillary, 2021 – garden tiger moth, 2022 - the scarce heath, 2023 - the herald and 2024 - the wall brown.

PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. The first Estonian butterfly of the year (2014). By: Kana — PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. The first Estonian butterfly of the year (2014). By: Silja Kana

The orchids of the year have been chosen by the Estonian Orchid Protection Club since 2010, when the first orchid of the year was the red helleborine. An overview of the species that have been the orchids of the year during this time can be viewed here. The orchid of the year 2023 was ehe narrow-leaved helleborine. The orchid of the year 2024 is the common spotted orchid.

The moss of the year has been chosen under the leadership of the magazine Samblasõbrad since 2017. During this time, the title has gone to the common haircap, glittering woodmoss, Sphagnum wulfianum, leucobryum moss, knights plume moss, neckera pennata, green shield-moss and in 2024, to the common liverwort. An overview of the species selected to be the mosses of the year can be viewed on the Samblasõbrad website.

The Estonian Mycological Society chose the mushroom of the year for the first time in 2017, and the title was awarded to the beloved and well-known chanterelle. The following year, the society chose the tinder fungus as the mushroom of the year, the shaggy ink cap in 2019, the star-tipped cup lichen in 2020, the burnt spiny cap in 2021, the epichloë typhina in 2022, the cep in 2023 and the candy cap in 2024.

The fish of the year was chosen for the first time in 2019 under the leadership of the magazine Kalastaja. The fish of the year have so far been the river lamprey (2019), salmon (2020), pike (2021), perch (2022), the European whitefish (2023) and the pike perch (2024).

In addition to choosing the species of the year, the soil of the year is also named every year. The leader of this enterprise is the Estonian Soil Science Society, which has chosen the soil of the year since 2014. The soil of the year 2024 is mollic gleysol. Previously, the title of the soil of the year has gone to ollic cambisol (2014), leptosol (2015), histosol (2016), podzol (2017), pseudopodsolic soil (2018), poor fen soil (2019), eroded soil (2020), cambisol (2021), artificial soil (2022), and umbric podzol (2023).

The species of the year receives more attention throughout the year

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