Animal Tattoos

Animal tattoos are among the most popular of all tattoo designs. Marketing agencies have long tried to promote products (e.g. cologne, perfumes, clothing) promising that it will “bring out the animal” in you. Well, animal tattoo designs are the only permanent way to bring out the animal in you and put it on you!

Theriomorphism is the word used to describe the attributing of animal characteristics to a human being. Since the dawn of time, humans have aligned themselves, and the images of their gods, to animal forms and spirits. The ancient Greek philosopher Porphyry said, “We can find no animal without some likeness to man.”

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From Egyptian gods with the head of a jackal or body of a lion, to European stories of werewolves and vampires, legends of animal/human crossovers abound. Some of the most famous of these are the transformation tales from Native American tribes.

Often, in their vision quest search for power and protection, tribesman acquired a guardian spirit in the form of an animal or bird. This animal became their totem or talisman. A similar phenomenon occurs with the indigenous Aboriginal peoples of Australia.

Lakota Indian Brave Buffalo, of Standing Rock Reservation in the United States, proclaimed, “Let a man decide upon his favorite animal and make a study of it – let him lean to understand its sounds and motions. The animals want to communicate with man, but Wakan-Tanka* does not intend they shall do so directly – man must do the greater part in securing an understanding.”

And what better way to think about and try to understand the animal than to inscribe its image on our skin? Animal tattoo designs demonstrate our connections to the spirits of the fine beasts that define our personalities; that symbolize our instincts and innate nature. Sometimes they are our pets, other times they are simply in our dreams. But we connect to them in a very serious way.

The word “animals” is a broad term, and encompasses all forms of sentient life. To keep the categories simple, this page will be devoted to mammals. Please see our other pages for bird tattoos, sea life tattoos, and insect and reptile tattoos.