European country animal (5)
I believe the answer is:
eland
'animal' is the definition.
(eland is a type of antelope)
'european country' is the wordplay.
'european' becomes 'E' (abbreviation e.g. EU).
'country' becomes 'land' (synonyms).
'e'+'land'='ELAND'
(Other definitions for eland that I've seen before include "African mammal" , "South African antelope" , "Animal's" , "Laden (anag.); antelope" , "Wild beast" .)