Washington has five official animal designations, not one catch-all “state animal.” The state bird is the willow goldfinch, the state fish is steelhead trout, the state insect is the common green darner dragonfly, the state marine mammal is the orca, and the state endemic mammal is the Olympic marmot. Each represents a different category and habitat, from inland waters and gardens to the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound.
The Washington State Legislature maintains the official list and explains that symbols become official through legislation. Its current index is the best starting point for understanding what “Washington’s state animals” means.
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Washington’s official animals at a glance
The Legislature separates Washington’s animal symbols into categories. That distinction matters: an orca is not a replacement for the state bird, and the Olympic marmot is not described in law as a generic state mammal. The categories, adoption years and documented origins are:
| Category | Official animal | Designation year | What the Legislature records |
|---|---|---|---|
| State bird | Willow goldfinch | Not stated on the current index | The Legislature’s current symbols index and state-symbols publication identify the willow goldfinch as Washington’s bird. |
| State fish | Steelhead trout | 1969 | Adopted as the official state fish. |
| State insect | Common green darner dragonfly (Anax junius) | 1997 | Students at Crestwood Elementary School in Kent brought the proposal to lawmakers. |
| State marine mammal | Orca (Orcinus orca) | 2005 | The designation recognizes the species’ importance to visitors and its significance in Native American culture, while calling for awareness and protection of marine habitat. |
| State endemic mammal | Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) | 2009 | A social marmot of the Olympic Peninsula that hibernates from September to May; the proposal was associated with students at Wedgwood School in Seattle. |
For the complete category list and the Legislature’s explanation of the bill process, see Washington State Legislature’s State symbols index.
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Why Washington has several “state animals”
“State animal” is everyday shorthand, but Washington’s official system is more precise. The state recognizes a bird, fish, insect, endemic mammal and marine mammal. Those labels describe the role an animal plays in the symbol system, not a ranking of which species is most important.
This approach also prevents habitat confusion. A steelhead trout belongs to the fish category, while an orca is specifically the marine mammal. The Olympic marmot has its own endemic-mammal designation, emphasizing its association with Washington’s Olympic Peninsula rather than assigning every land mammal in the state a single emblem.
State bird: willow goldfinch
The willow goldfinch is Washington’s official state bird. That is the common name used on the Legislature’s current symbols index; use it rather than substituting a different goldfinch name when identifying the official symbol.
The state-symbols pages establish the designation itself but do not provide a separate adoption year in the current index. For a classroom display, family activity or state-symbols chart, label the category exactly as “Washington state bird: willow goldfinch” and link to the Legislature’s index so readers can verify the government’s current wording.
State fish: steelhead trout
Steelhead trout is Washington’s official state fish. The Legislature’s fish page records its adoption in 1969, making it the earliest adoption year among the five animal categories listed here.
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Keep the category in the name. “Washington’s state fish, steelhead trout” is more accurate than calling steelhead the state animal without qualification. The official fish page is the appropriate source for the designation and year: Washington State Fish.
State insect: common green darner dragonfly
Washington’s state insect is the common green darner dragonfly, Anax junius. It became official in 1997 after students at Crestwood Elementary School in Kent brought the proposal to the Legislature. That origin is part of the symbol’s story: a school project moved through the state’s legislative process and produced an official designation.
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The Legislature’s insect page documents both the species and the student-led proposal. It is useful when a teacher or parent wants children to see that state symbols can begin with community members rather than only with agencies or professional organizations: Washington State Insect.
State marine mammal: orca
The orca, Orcinus orca, is Washington’s official state marine mammal. The Legislature designated it in 2005. Its official page says the choice recognizes that many people visit Washington to watch orcas and identifies the animal as significant in Native American culture. That cultural reference should be read carefully: it appears in the Legislature’s rationale and does not make a single claim about every Native nation or community.
The stated purpose goes beyond recognition. The Legislature says the designation is intended to promote orca awareness and encourage protection of the natural marine habitat. The page credits two years of research and persuasion by second graders from Crescent Harbor Elementary School in Oak Harbor.
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Washington law states: “The orca, Orcinus orca, is hereby designated as the official marine mammal of the state of Washington.” This sentence appears in RCW 1.20.037, the statutory source for the designation. Read the explanatory page at Washington State Marine mammal and the statute at RCW 1.20.037.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsState endemic mammal: Olympic marmot
The Olympic marmot, Marmota olympus, is Washington’s official state endemic mammal. The designation dates to 2009. The species inhabits the Olympic Peninsula, giving this symbol a particularly direct geographic connection to Washington.
The Legislature’s description calls the marmot social and says it hibernates from September to May. Those details explain why the category is more specific than “state mammal”: the symbol identifies a mammal associated with a defined Washington region and with a distinctive seasonal life cycle.
The Legislature attributes the proposal to fourth- and fifth-graders at Wedgwood School in Seattle. Its official endemic-mammal page provides the designation background, while the 2025 state-symbols publication includes the marmot among Washington’s symbols: Washington State Endemic mammal and Symbols of Washington (2025 PDF).
How these animal symbols become official
Washington does not create an animal symbol merely by publishing a commemorative list. The Legislature’s state-symbols index explains that symbols become official through bills. A proposal must therefore enter the legislative process before the designation has official status.
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The five animals show several routes into that process:
- Students at Crestwood Elementary School in Kent proposed the common green darner dragonfly.
- Second graders from Crescent Harbor Elementary School in Oak Harbor spent two years researching and persuading lawmakers about the orca.
- Fourth- and fifth-graders at Wedgwood School in Seattle proposed the Olympic marmot.
- The fish and bird designations appear in the Legislature’s official symbols materials without a comparable student-origin account on the cited pages.
These examples are not evidence that every symbol follows the same path. They show that Washington’s process can incorporate school research, community advocacy and legislative action.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A timeline of Washington’s animal designations
The adoption years create a simple chronology, even though the categories are different:
- 1969: Steelhead trout is adopted as the state fish.
- 1997: The common green darner dragonfly becomes the state insect after the Crestwood Elementary proposal.
- 2005: The orca becomes the state marine mammal.
- 2009: The Olympic marmot becomes the state endemic mammal.
The willow goldfinch belongs in the state-bird slot, but the current index cited here does not state an adoption year alongside its name. Do not infer a date from the order of the index or from another symbol’s legislation.
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What the categories reveal about Washington
Taken together, the designations span several environments and ways of experiencing the state:
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- Bird: the willow goldfinch provides the familiar avian category.
- Freshwater fish: steelhead trout represents the fish category.
- Insect: the common green darner dragonfly adds a flying invertebrate to the official set.
- Olympic Peninsula mammal: the Olympic marmot anchors the endemic-mammal category to a specific Washington landscape.
- Marine mammal: the orca connects the symbols to Washington’s marine environment and to the Legislature’s habitat-protection rationale.
This is a classification system, not a claim that these five species cover all of Washington’s wildlife. Many animals live in the state; only these categories and species are identified in the cited official symbols materials.
Common mistakes when answering “What are Washington’s state animals?”
Listing only the orca
The orca is highly recognizable, but it is the state marine mammal, not the sole state animal. A complete answer also names the willow goldfinch, steelhead trout, common green darner dragonfly and Olympic marmot.
Calling the Olympic marmot the state mammal without qualification
The official category is “state endemic mammal.” Retaining the word “endemic” avoids implying that Washington has one unrestricted state-mammal designation.
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The current Legislature index uses “willow goldfinch.” When accuracy matters, reproduce that wording and cite the index rather than relying on an informal synonym.
Leaving out adoption years
The years distinguish the legislative history of the symbols. Include 1969 for steelhead trout, 1997 for the common green darner dragonfly, 2005 for the orca and 2009 for the Olympic marmot. The cited current index does not supply a bird-designation year, so mark it as not stated rather than guessing.
Using the official sources for school, museum and family projects
For a reliable handout, begin with the Legislature’s state-symbols index, then open the category page for the animal being discussed. The 2025 publication, Symbols of Washington, is useful as a consolidated reference for the state’s symbols. For the orca, pair the educational page with the legal text in RCW 1.20.037.
A clear activity can ask students to sort the five animals by category, place the four stated adoption years on a timeline, and identify which origin stories involve elementary-school students. That exercise teaches both wildlife vocabulary and how a state symbol is created through a bill.
The direct answer
Washington’s official animal symbols are the willow goldfinch (state bird), steelhead trout (state fish), common green darner dragonfly (Anax junius, state insect), orca (Orcinus orca, state marine mammal) and Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus, state endemic mammal). Saying “Washington’s state animals” is correct only when the category-specific designations are included.
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