[Closed] Best wild animal you ever saw

white tip reef shark - internally shat myself

A Coyote and a Racoon in Yosemite, but no bears - a bit too early in spring. 🙁

badger

best of the animals by far

followed by basking shark, otter, bear

this country and adder lying asleep in the path it just slithered off but I was within 3 feet of it

my wife, drunk, in the bedroom 😉

A group of VERY large carp.. all potential UK record breakers..

not very exciting for some but hugely so for me..

King Snake in Tasmania - I was scared.
Adder asleep in my local wood.
Golden Eagle flying high in Torridon - huge wingspan

Would love to encounter a bear - kinda.

+1 for headfirsts wife BTW

Cobra (in kitchen) in Thailand.

Moose in Canada.

Fox at entrance to shed door yesterday.

A moose by the road in Canada. In this country, a pine marten on the Learnie trails on the black isle near inverness.

A Hammerhead shark, while swimming out to a boat mooring 100 yards out to sea, swam back a darn sight quicker, I can tell you 😉

Bike related:

Cycling in the Wyre Forest down a narrow fern lined trail, watching a load of deer running parallel to us with their heads just visiable over the ferns, for maybe 50-100 yards.

yunki - oh that was you she was with? I never did get your name. Good show my man!!

A group of VERY large carp.. all potential UK record breakers..

not very exciting for some but hugely so for me..

Ooh where was that?! I remember seeing a group of 3 40lb+ carp when I was in France at Nash Resorts.... Trouble is, they were up at one end of the lake and my kit was over at the other!

a herd of Bison in Yellowstone follwed closely by a bear crossing the road with its family in Yosemite!

I have a few, Cheetah on safari in Africa, troop of over 50 elephants on the same trip

killer whale inside passage off the coast of Vancouver island and killer dolphins running with the boat same trip

a bear on vancouver island watching traffic drive past on ther road between euclet and toffino (prob spelt wrong) on vancouver island

Some very large Iguana that roamed the grounds of our hotel in Mexico

Oh and cant forget Charlie the semi wild monkey at an elephant sanctuary in thailand

I had a pee in a ditch in France, should probably have looked first as disturbed one of these - nearly 2 metres long.

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Grizzly

In Europe - elk in Norway

Huge (and antlered) stag on some fire road at Kielder - he looked at me, i stopped very quickly!

a bear on vancouver island watching traffic drive past on ther road between euclet and toffino

that doesn't count, that road is known as bear alley, they aren't really bears, they are draught dodgers from toffino that have got a bit too beardy

oh missed from my list a Barracuda whilst snorkelling in mexico, i went the other way.......

A Wombat

A big cat in Brittany about 50m from the road we were on, it casually walked into the woods.

Red Kites

amazing

Anyone seen a mole? I've only ever seen a dead one. I've had a disappointing life.

Diving with these in the Maldives (not my photo)

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Not seen many...bald eagles in Canada were cool.

But most special recently was an otter quietly swimming along by the bank when out on a night row earlier this year. Me and the guy behind me nearly wet ourselves we were so delighted to see it.

DezB - Member

Anyone seen a mole? I've only ever seen a dead one. I've had a disappointing life.

Yep, you would be amazed how quickly they can move and dig 😉

Being serious now, as a kid living in S Africa I saw a blue whale

I saw my first great white shark on a flat calm day off S Africa - we'd been chumming the water and I still remember seeing a dark shadow underwater then two little whirlpools appeared on the surface just before the fin broke the water in a classic Jaws style. Shame that one cleared off before we could get the cage in as it was about 5.5m. Superb animals.

Golden Eagle flying high in Torridon - huge wingspan

yep, I've seen one up there too - it was way up but looked huge

In this country I've spotted a Pine Marten while cycling down a forestry track into Killin.

Abroad. An otter while snorkelling in Menorca. And the scariest of the lot...... a skunk in a park in Vancouver. It could have been a great white as far as I was concerned! 🙂

Probably Red Kite in the UK, saw all sorts of odd critters in Aus.

I've also seen most UK species of bat, but they're not particularly impressive in looks.

Lions eating an elephant's afterbirth in Zimbabwe

A lynx here in Switzerland (whilst biking). Never get tired of seeing wild mountain ponies either.

Swordfish - big one swimming along beside the boat for ages - very cool

Saw Ospreys, Golden eagles, Capercaillie and red squirrels when up in Aviemore last month, fabulous.

Seen the red kites @ Nant yr-arian, but that's a bit false as there's a breeding / feeding centre - not proper wild stuff. Still a fantastic sight though

Red Kites and some seriously testosteroned up stags in the UK.

LOADS of black bears in Canada some pretty close up - they look quite cuddly. 3 adolescent grizzlys whilst out in the back country. Very definitely NOT cuddly!

red kite
badger
bittern
red squirrel (not that rare but still cool)
avocet
Stoats (on a regular basis on Win Hill)
Mole

Mother and baby elephant in Kenya, leopard too.
Bear and moose in the mountains in USA
Wolf fish while diving in UK
Grey whales and Orcas in North Pacific
Baby Robin in the woods behind the Natwest bank in Swindon

thepurist - Member

I saw my first great white shark on a flat calm day off S Africa - we'd been chumming the water and I still remember seeing a dark shadow underwater then two little whirlpools appeared on the surface just before the fin broke the water in a classic Jaws style. Shame that one cleared off before we could get the cage in as it was about 5.5m. Superb animals.

Now that's something I would love to see, safe on a boat that is!

😉

I've swum with Grey Nurse Sharks in Manly Aquarium near Sydney.
And a huge school of dolphins off the coast of New Zealand.

I've stroked a moray eel with my bare hands in Malaysia; released a newly born turtle into the sea in Borneo and tracked lions on foot in Africa.

All this will be lost, like tears in the rain...

A white deer.. and a almost as good, a herd of deer running parallel to me, very cool until I realised I was heading into a downhill section very very fast (as I wasn't paying attention to the track)..

Red kites big groups of them, ravens are cool, panda in the zoo if that counts

In Kenya - lions, cheetahs (beautiful animals) and even a leopard.

At home - a deer jumping through long grass as I watched from my kitchen window.

In captivity - meerkats at Tropical World in Leeds or any kind of fish in any Sea Life Centre

Saw an otter last week for the first time ever. That was great.

Heffalumps, warthogs and giraffe in Kenya

I do love big birds of prey tho - Sea Eagles on Mull are fantastic

The bear was of the black variety, near the road in the Rocky Mountain national park. My list includes:

Bald Eagles by the score (Wisconsin)
Otters (Michigan)
Possibly Golden Eagles (France and Colorado)
Marmots (Alps, Colorado)
Coyotes (USA)
Prarie dogs (USA)
Pronghorn Antelope (USA - Dakotas)
Bison (USA)
Badgers (UK)
Hoopoe (France)
Seals (Wales)
Dolphin (Miami)
Egrets (Miami)
Vultures (USA)
Kingfishers (UK)
Adder (Cardiff - slithered across the trail 6 feet infront of me)
Elk (USA)
Capercaille (Finland)
Snowy Owl (Finland)
Red squirrel (Lakes)
Red deer (not unusual in Scotland but I was in the Brecon Beacons)
Turkeys (USA)
Musk Rats (USA)

As shark encounters go, this was pretty special too :-

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These little fellas up in Western Scotland
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So cute... till you notice those claws!

UK: deer, fox, red kites (lots near Harewood breeding program)

Anywhere else: raccoons in Stanley Park, Vancouver; elk in Canmore, just walking through town; eagles in the sky near Kamloops. No bears or moose though

A sleeping grizzly in Bella Coola, BC - she was sleeping 8 to 10 feet away up on some rocks in the afternoon sun, we nearly walked right past her. She woke up and knew there was something there but went back to sleep 🙂 Also watched grizzlies fishing in the rivers as we were there during salmon spawning. A fantastic experience.

In this country, Sea Eagle and Golden Eagles. I hoped to see an otter last week but saw nothing but seals and sea birds.

post removed: wrong thread sorry! 😳

Ooh where was that?! I remember seeing a group of 3 40lb+ carp when I was in France at Nash Resorts.... Trouble is, they were up at one end of the lake and my kit was over at the other!

In the UK.. I'm not really at liberty to say where in the UK..
I also like when you see very tiny but perfectly formed juvenile fish in our British rivers and canals.. (that's your only clue).. such as a 2.5 inch Pikelet.. amazing and a bit cute 😯

ive seen all the African big stuff (lions, leopards elephant cheetah etc)while in Zimbabwe and the big whales when in California. i can see a red kite right now from my window and regularly do porpoise and dolphin watches just a few miles from my house but the best wild animal ive ever seen was a Leatherback turtle off the coast of west wales

oh and an otter in the river behind my mums house the day she moved - that was pretty special

these elephants were pretty special too, dusk just comng on, colours were amazing

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I've seen bears, swam with dolphins but the most impressive was a pod of killer Whales in British Columbia. In motor boats you are supposed to keep 100m distance but in a kayak the whales set the terms and we were properly amongst them as they came past. Got some photos somewhere but I think I'm in a bout 6million photos from all the boats taking pictures of us.

My GF has the best photo though of her surfing Sting Rays in Australia. They look huge and you can just ride the wash under water. I wasn't there unfortunately. Also it was about a month before Steve Irwin died so they probably don't let tourists do it anymore.

Bear with cub in BC for me.

Lots of safari memories (lived in Zimbabwe for 6 years) but best would be:
-Bachelor herd of elephants spending the night in the garden of Mana Pools lodge while we watched from the balcony during a big lighting storm.
-Mana Pools again watched a pack of wild dogs hunt impala, no kill though.
-Recent trip to Kenya watched a lioness stalk zebra, didn't get to see the ambush as we needed to head for the gate as our pass was nearly up.
-Nyanga in Zimbabwe horseback trek galloping alongside a wilder beast heard through scrub and forest.

Rabbit

Wasp

Is that the rabit from monty python, and the wasp from Sinbad, those would be brill!!

This country - stag

ocean - whale shark

africa - all their stuff !

Snorkelling on the barrier reef & being side-by-side with a Mauri-Wrass that was as big as me, & Barracuda's...fastest thing I've ever seen. Always fancied swimming with those Giant Manitee (Sea-Cows) in Florida.

Uk - red kites, check, had some pretty big stags jumped out at me, last year saw a white stag in the new forest once. Baby shetland ponies are brilliant too - about the size of a dog.

Abroad sea - moray's in thailand, some weird fish that looked just like a leaf (got some video - it is a fish, it tried to escape) and turtles in egypt

Abroad land - hundreds of horrible leechs, tartantulas, monkeys, flying lizards and other stuff in thai jungle. Won't be going there again! Seriously big iguanas in maya ruins in mexico, and wild tortoise!

I'll just list what I've seen in Scotland as a form of being competitive. All in the wild of course, no wildlife centres etc.

Golden Eagle
White Tailed Sea Eagle
Otter (many times, actually 'know' individuals at a place I stay often)
Pine Marten
Badgers (I have a local set I visit Simon King style)
Foxes (including a wee cub night before last up Cathkin Braes)
Bottle nosed dolphins
Minke Whale
Red Squirrel
Capercaille
Ptarmigan
Black grouse
Snow Bunting
Hoopoe (near Chapelton E.K.!)
Siskin
Scottish Crossbill
Hen Harriers (getting pretty common TBH)
Corncrake (Hebrides)
Adder
Slow Worm

That's about it I think. Missing beaver and Scottish wildcat from my list.

I happened to be visiting a sanctuary for sick and retired circus animals in Spain when the warden was bottle feeding a couple of tiger cubs that were only a couple of weeks old. He let me feed one and then we rolled around the floor playing for a bit after. He did say that in another few weeks I wouldnt be able to do that as it would have my hand off! I can honestly say they were the most amazing creatures. Whilst feeding mine with the bottle, its eyes were just staring up at me, huge and green, amazing. The mother had been dumped from a circus when she got ill, she had leukemia and didnt have the strength to feed to cubs. Such a shame.

Sea Eagles on Mull

Another first otter sighting here! Two of them, a few weeks back while I was up on Lewis. Only got a quick glimpse before they disappeared back down towards the water, but lovely to see.

I seen a Wood Ant once 🙂

Not the most exiting animal as such but once spend 10 min watching 4 Fox cubs play, from just 3m away.

And watching Beavers swim close to my canoe in Sweden was also realy cool.

Seen a bear right by the road in Yosemite, when there is 20 plus cars parked by the road to watch it, it just doesn't seem that special.

a golden eagle flying beside the window of my jeep in mongolia, 3 feet away, couldn't get the camera ready before it was gone.

I windsurfed for a minute or so with a dolphin in the Solent 2 years ago. Saw a stag on Hindhead Common, A Hen Harrier up on Kingly Vale and had Kingfishers using my rods as perches when I was a carpist.

robin
bumble bee

In Wales.
Red Kites back in the early 80's when it was really exciting
Polecat
Kingfisher
Buzzards
still yet to see the local Otters, unfortunately missed the Hobby that used my mum’s bird table as a bird bird table and the little egret that took up residence in the river one summer.

In Berkshire.
Muntjac
Badgers
and most of the other standard woodland creatures

In London.
Sparrow hawk sat on a branch outside my office window getting mobbed by crows
Red deer
Fallow deer
brave little town foxes
ring necked parakeets, freakin' millions of the noisy blighters

In Cornwall on holiday.
spent a week camping with this little fella hopping around outside every morning

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7825467/Wallaby-colony-living-in-Cornwall.html

UK? Stag beetles...no-one ever told us they could fly....utterly freaked me out, they look amazing but are right b!tches to get out of a kitchen when they have flown in!

Elsewhere? Esturine Crocodile in Oz, Northern Territory...realy really big (about 5m long) and didnt leave a single ripple on the water when it dived. Comments like "we're gonna need a bigger boat" and " I want my mummy" really did come to mind

A rattlesnake in the desert outside Tucson. I actually went up to it to take a photo - to this day I don't know what I was thinking.

I saw a flying stag beetle once - only briefly though as it hit the visor of my motorbike helmet squarely in the middle at about 70mph. Made a hell of a mess it was only identifiable from dental records (well the bit of mandible that was left).

Well i bet no-one's managed to photograph a mole in the wild...

loads of Black bears around British Columbia
best one was a train of four of us coming off the bottom of one of the trails in Whistler Bike Park (Schleyer) to be met by a mummy bear and three juvenile bears coming up the trail
probably the most scared and excited I've ever been - we stopped dead and so did the bears, then they walked off the track into the bushes - we carried on and as we looked into the bushes where they'd left the track, they were about a foot away - we didn't look back 😀

Nearly squashed a stoat or weasel, never know which is which, at Lee Quarry a couple of weeks ago, i was on the back bit of the quarry across the top of the cliffs. Not very exciting as far as animals go but i enjoyed seeing it.

Otter at Bourtange Fort in the Netherlands, Snowy Owl at Outkerkse Polder just outside Brugge, Golden Eagles in Portugal and Crete, Griffon Vultures in Crete, Bullfinch and Hawfinch in our garden, Red Kite over our our house, Slowworms in the garden of our other house, Night Herons, Little Bitternes, Glossy Ibises, Ospreys at Rutland Water and every wild creature in our garden - bird list currently running at 36 species.

Love them all!

We have several "sanglier" come visiting around the house, the adults are huge!
The little hoglets are cute though.