# non-domesticated animals you'd like as a pet **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148 "2004-11-22T18:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/21 "2004-11-22T20:46:01Z")
I’d love to raise a kinkajou and an ocelot together. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/22 "2004-11-22T20:54:44Z")
Oh, I want a California sea lion and a harbor seal, too. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/23 "2004-11-22T21:03:01Z")
I think it would be cool to have a raven. I am not otherwise goth in any way. And **Jennyrosity** , it would be very wrong to have a meerkat as a pet. You need at least half a dozen. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/24 "2004-11-22T21:07:10Z")
A flying squirrel. Just like the one on my woodpecker feeder last night. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/25 "2004-11-22T21:16:08Z")
I want a lovey-bear. Shot dead and stuffed with fire-retardant love fluff! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/26 "2004-11-22T21:16:14Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I’d like a skunk (descented, of course) - yes, I understand that there are some individual skunks that are domesticated… Why yes, [there are](http://sirblah.com/photo/view.php?album=Cove%20Haven%202004&mode=&pic=ch026.jpg&picindex=25). 🙂 And to answer your question, I want an elephant. But one like they talked about in the book version of _Jurassic Park_. One that’s about the size of an average dog when fully grown. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/27 "2004-11-22T21:20:20Z")
I’d want a [wombat.](http://www.tased.edu.au/tot/fauna/wombat.html) They look so cuddly. And, if I was going to get a penguin, it would have to be a fairy penguin. They’re teeny…definitely the cutest penguins. I had a friend whose mom worked for some sort of animal rescue thing. They had baby squirrels and racoons that they took care of so that they could later be released back into the wild. One racoon couldn’t get the hang of the wild animal thing and just settled into their family. He used to sit on the couch and watch tv with us. Very cool. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/28 "2004-11-22T21:28:47Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Why yes, [there are](http://sirblah.com/photo/view.php?album=Cove%20Haven%202004&mode=&pic=ch026.jpg&picindex=25). 🙂 > > . squee! I want one more now…how does one go about getting a skunk, anyhow? \<\\> ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/29 "2004-11-22T21:35:38Z")
> [@C3](#): > > And, if I was going to get a penguin, it would have to be a fairy penguin. They’re teeny…definitely the cutest penguins. If fairy penguins are the [little blue penguins](http://www.penguin.net.nz/blue/blues.html), I want one too! I also want [an Adelie penguin and an Emperor penguin](http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/Penguins.html). ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/30 "2004-11-22T21:46:15Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > If fairy penguins are the [little blue penguins](http://www.penguin.net.nz/blue/blues.html), I want one too! . That’s the one! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/31 "2004-11-22T21:46:19Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > squee! > I want one more now…how does one go about getting a skunk, anyhow? Simple. One goes to Ceasar’s Cove Haven in the Poconos. Once one gets there, one goes up to the Sports Palace, and finds the lady working the counter there with the pet skunk. Then one asks her, 'cause I sure as hell don’t know. 😛 All I know is that it was quite a pricey animal, and not the easiest critter in the world to take care of. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/32 "2004-11-22T22:03:25Z")
Serval Lynx Cheetah One of the small pterosaur species, about a 1 foot wingspan. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/33 "2004-11-22T22:45:19Z")
Oh man, I _so_ want a wolf. (And I can’t believe I’m the first one to say so!) Wolves are my totem animals. I have wolf statues at work, wolf art at home, even a wolf tattoo on my arm. I want a wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/34 "2004-11-22T22:56:02Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > Meerkat. MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! > > Meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat meerkat. > > I want a meerkat. One of our cats apparently thinks he’s a meerkat sometimes. He does that standing-on-his-hind-legs-to-look-around thing. As for me, I’d love an asian clouded leopard. One of the most beautiful cats I’ve ever seen. Or maybe a margay, which is a bit smaller than an ocelot, and even cuter. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/35 "2004-11-22T22:57:31Z")
Half a dozen meerkats! Want half a dozen meerkats NOW! And a bear, can I have a bear? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/36 "2004-11-22T23:25:08Z")
I want a [desert or Fennec fox](http://www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/fennec.htm) . They are the world’s smallest canine species. I saw them on a documentary and was filled with want. Want! WAAANT! Meerkat lovers can [Adopt a Meerkat](http://www.meerkats.com/adopt.html) in a not taking one home sort of sense. Oh, and if anyone has ever read Philip Pullman’s _His Dark Materials_, I want a daemon the way other people want food and shelter. But for living animals, the [Fennec fox](http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/146.shtml). Yes, the [Fennec fox](http://www.jeannieshouse.com/jungle/fennec/fennec.html). (This is my favorite picture.) And, in case you weren’t paying attention, [fox, Fennec](http://www.gotpetsonline.com/fennec-fox/fennec-fox-pictures/fennec-fox-pictures.html)! Okay, I’m done now. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/37 "2004-11-22T23:34:48Z")
I want a dragon. Failing that, a dolphin. If I can’t have a dolphin I want an elephant to ride through town on. If I can’t have an elephant then I want a panda. If I can’t have a panda then I want a leopard. I want something either much bigger than me and sort of scary or something that can cuddle ME. The dolphin I want to swim with. I chose the wrong career ☹ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/38 "2004-11-22T23:39:03Z")
What animal wouldn’t I want? I’ll take all of the above, plus a manatee in the backyard pool. Sure, you can frolic with dolphins, but then you could take time out and you and the manatee could gaze soulfully into each other’s eyes. Oh wait, and a squirrel! I know some people have them as pets, but like the skunk, I don’t generally consider them domesticated. Let’s not forget the elephant shrew. So tiny, he could live in my pocket, then come out to play, and give me little eskimo kisses with his little nose. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/39 "2004-11-23T00:30:31Z")
What, no one wants a tiger? I know they’re dangerous and all and no one wants to get royed but, c’mon… they’re awesome. I want three. I also want a wolf. And some dolphins. And an eagle. ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148/40 "2004-11-23T00:36:50Z")
I should have an echidna. And I love alpacas, so two or three of those would be nice. Also a bunch of butterflies. Not huge ones, but little and medium ones, all colors. And of course I’d need a silvery shimmery unicorn. I guess I’d have to move to the magical forest, wouldn’t I? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-domesticated-animals-youd-like-as-a-pet/276148.md?page=3)