So, what’s the most exotic? Hopefully this will include stories of said meetings.
I’d like to expand the definition of “in the wild” to include chance encounters. So zoos, no way. Safaris, wildlife preserves, activities where you go to see them - I would also say no. For example, I would not include night diving with Manta Rays, since that’s what we were there to do, and they show up every night at that spot. Nor would I include whales, unless you weren’t actually whale watching when you saw them.
I would, however, include snorkeling in Belize and encounteringacoupleofManatees. That was awesome, as their presence was completely unexpected, yet there they were. And not afraid at all. Up close they look about as alien as anything you would encounter on this planet. Floridians would not share my opinion of their exoticness, however.
On land, I came across some Nutria while walking a popular trail within the Portland city limits, which freaked me the hell out, since I had no idea what they were and had never seen one before. But, on further research, those aren’t all that exotic if you’re from Louisiana.
I’ve also seen wild Pacas and Coati while in Costa Rica, but they aren’t all that exotic…to Costa Ricans.
But hey - these were all exotic to me, and they were definitely in the wild, so there you go.
I was in Yosemite, about 20 yards away from a parking lot where a couple of hiking trails start, and someone said they’d just seen a bobcat but it had disappeared among the rocks. I was kinda disappointed I missed it, but then as I was walking away I saw him. We both kept our distance; he didn’t seem timid or aggressive, but I wasn’t gonna press the issue either way. To be that close to such a well-travelled area he must have been somewhat accustomed to people. For purposes of this thread, I’m still counting that as “in the wild”.
I don’t think any were too exotic given their locations but I have encountered very large iguanas and monitor lizards, coconut crabs, wild boar, deer, dolphins, very large tuna and assorted fishes (including flying fish which are very cool!), sharks, sea snakes, an octopus that we use to pry off his rock to play with and man-o-wars (all in Guam). Boar, hedgehogs, deer, and shrews amongst other critters and once a tiger walking down the street after having escaped from its handler (in Germany). Possums, wildcats, deer, raccoons, dolphins, sharks and horseshoe crabs amongst the “normal” animals (in South Carolina). Scorpions, tarantulas, rattlesnakes, various spiders and nutria in addition to “normal” animals (in Texas) and wildcats, groundhogs and two bears here in Kansas (in addition to the raccoons, possums and deer that sometimes come by to eat the cat food I put out for the feral cats) and of course that is in addition to the more ordinary animals that I see frequently.
ETA: Oh! And the monkeys, elephants and tigers in Sri Lanka.
When I was about 10 I saw a Wood Duck standing in the middle of our road, in western Washington. They range from the Eastern US to Mexico. It shouldn’t have been there.
Sea otters. It occurred to me that if you weren’t born & raised on the central California coast you might find them exotic…if you were, no big deal. Like seeing a moose in Alaska.
A goanna outside my front door, and a monkey that stole my map and tried to steal my shoelaces in Japan. Also a platypus in an old quarry that had been filled with water.
I need to add alligators to my list (in South Carolina) as well as manta rays (also South Carolina, but in the ocean ;)) and sea lions and an orca (killer whale) that had washed ashore with what looked like a bite mark on its side (in California) and prairie dogs (not particularly exotic, but cute ;)) in lots of places.
I once had a Koala in my front yard right in the middle of suburbia! We have all kinds around here like kangaroos, echidnas etc etc but I have met people who swear they have seen a jaguar in the forests of Victoria.
Most of these aren’t all that exotic depending where you live, but I’ve still enjoyed seeing them.
We’ve had moose in my backyard and neighbourhood, and have seen them on numerous hikes.
I’ve seen black bear, porcupines, coyotes, deer, weasel, mink, wild turkeys, frogs, beavers, owls, muskrats, snakes, lizards and elk while hiking (not all on the same hike, however). My favourite sighting, though, was a grey wolf. We’d gone hiking in the winter at Lake Minnewanka in Banff NP, and, as we walked back to our car while the sun set, we were completely alone. At the edge of the parking lot, there was a wolf who stood and watched us for a little bit before he turned and loped off into the forest. He was beautiful.
I’ve also seen lots of harbour seals, sea lions, rays and dolphins while swimming. If you stay in the water until the sun sets, you can experience pelicans diving all around you. It’s fantastic! They fold their wings in tight and just plummet straight into the water. If you’re close enough when they pop back up, you can often see the fish they’ve just caught struggling in their mouths.
I’ve been in both African and Amazon rainforests, so I’ve seen all kinds of things in their natural habs. Cocodiles, piranhas, pygmy hippos, cobras, mambas, monkeys. One of the coolest and most unexpected things I saw was a toucan sitting in a tree in West Africa.
First thing that popped into my head is the exact opposite. Not too many exotic species in upstate NY but the newt has all of florida’s lizards beat for colorfulness. It really surprised me when I first saw it and didn’t know they were native to NYS.
