'Big 10 Animals' You Want To See In The Wild Before You Die (leopard, Yellowstone)

[Trimac20]

What are 10 animals you want to see in the wild, in their natural habitat, before you die?

Mine would be:

Tiger
African Elephant
Lion
Rhino (any species)
Polar Bear or Grizzly Bear
Bison
Saltwater Crocodile
Mountain Gorilla
Orang Utan
Blue Whale

While I've seen all of these species bar the Blue Whale in captivity, I've only seen the Saltwater Crocodile in the wild. I've yet to even see a bear in the wild as I'm from Australia. I have been to an Orang utan sanctuary however, and have seen other species of whales in the wild.

[BlackShoe]

Being a realist, I am very unlikely to ever travel to Africa, Asia, or for that matter, any place outside of North America. That being so, my list would be limited to the big predators, since I have seen all of the hoofed animals of NA with the exception of the moose, caribou, and musk oxen. Top of the list are the big bears, with a Yellowstone or Glacier NP grizzly number one. A trip to Alaska and it's coastal grizzlies, or brown bears as they are commonly called, would also be a thrill. Next would be a wild cougar. Have never spotted one in spite of having wandered in cougar territory for many years. Wolves also are on the list. If I can ever make my long planned trip back to Yellowstone, and this time hike into it's backcountry, grizzlies and wolves are possible, although a cougar is unlikely.

[Osito]

I'd be pretty scared to see some of these animals, but it must be amazing to actually see them.

[Osito]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

What are 10 animals you want to see in the wild, in their natural habitat, before you die?

Mine would be:

Tiger
African Elephant
Lion
Rhino (any species)
Polar Bear or Grizzly Bear
Bison
Saltwater Crocodile
Mountain Gorilla
Orang Utan
Blue Whale

While I've seen all of these species bar the Blue Whale in captivity, I've only seen the Saltwater Crocodile in the wild. I've yet to even see a bear in the wild as I'm from Australia. I have been to an Orang utan sanctuary however, and have seen other species of whales in the wild.

Big bears run rampant in Alaska but I'd be careful.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

What are 10 animals you want to see in the wild, in their natural habitat, before you die?

Mine would be:

Tiger
African Elephant
Lion
Rhino (any species)
Polar Bear or Grizzly Bear
Bison
Saltwater Crocodile
Mountain Gorilla
Orang Utan
Blue Whale

While I've seen all of these species bar the Blue Whale in captivity, I've only seen the Saltwater Crocodile in the wild. I've yet to even see a bear in the wild as I'm from Australia. I have been to an Orang utan sanctuary however, and have seen other species of whales in the wild.

I've seen bison plenty of times and in the summer of 2011 I actually saw four grizzly bears in less than an hour. The rest of these I haven't seen.

My top ten would be:

Elephant (either species)
Cape Buffalo
Lion
Hyena (mostly just to hear them laugh)
Orca
Gorilla
Jaguar
Tiger
Mountain Lion (even though they are around where I live)
Polar Bear

[bjh]

I'm happy to see these animals with photography. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but if everyone overran shrinking habitats to see more animals in the wild the destruciton would be difficult to quantify and impossible to justify.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by bjh

I'm happy to see these animals with photography. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but if everyone overran shrinking habitats to see more animals in the wild the destruciton would be difficult to quantify and impossible to justify.

We also have zoos. I guess sort of thankfully more people would rather laze on the beach than go hunting for wildlife, although ironically eco-tourism is both a help and a threat for many species'.

[bjh]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

We also have zoos. I guess sort of thankfully more people would rather laze on the beach than go hunting for wildlife, although ironically eco-tourism is both a help and a threat for many species'.

Right, but your question was about "in the wild." I don't call standing in a zoo with the spouse and kids, a camera around the neck and an ice cream dripping down one's arm, a few yards from a bathroom, an air conditioned restaurant, and the car - in the wild.

[TabulaRasa]

When I studied in Africa, I saw the so-called "Big 5" in their natural habitat, in Krueger Park, as well as lots of other animals besides black rhino, elephants, lions, Cape buffalo, and leopard. There are a lot of animals that are a lot more interesting to observe than Cape buffalo, trust me.

[124c41]

Giraffe, and a blue whale