First of all, from the first two sentences, it shows that this kind of animal definitely exists in China, because "poetry" and "brushwork" are China culture;
Secondly, since this animal can be put into poetry and painting, it shows that the ancients appreciated this animal very much. With such an analysis, animals that meet this condition will be vividly portrayed, that is, dragons, tigers, leopards, eagles, horses, cranes and so on. However, since we can compare and refer to "strength of character", "high heart" and "Zhiyuan", we certainly do not include animals such as horses and cranes. It seems that only the dragon, tiger and leopard eagle meets the requirements;
Third, the so-called "close call" is a metaphor for a critical situation, but it actually implies that this animal is an endangered species, so dragons can be ruled out. As for the remaining tigers, leopards and eagles, although they are all endangered species, only the eagle meets the condition of "hating the sky".
So, the answer is eagle.