# Your favorite non-domesticated critter **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995 "2008-09-17T16:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/1 "2008-09-17T16:54:59Z")
So no cats or dogs or ferrets or goldfish, por favor. Besides the obvious, I’m fond of almost anything furry and striped from [striped hyenas](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=striped+hyena&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) to [okapi.](http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=okapi&btnG=Search+Images) Wombats, hedgehogs, and red pandas are also adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/2 "2008-09-17T17:04:46Z")
My husband. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/3 "2008-09-17T17:05:41Z")
California grizzly bears of course. 🆒 Too bad they’re extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/4 "2008-09-17T17:09:46Z")
I really like a sugar glider. They’re small and soooo soft! [Gadget & Gizmo | Photos courtesy of Customers from SunCoast … | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27229185@N05/2592010595/) My co-worker brought hers into the office one day. Very cute. I wouldn’t keep one, but they’re pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/5 "2008-09-17T17:13:37Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > [okapi.](http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=okapi&btnG=Search+Images) Wow, I didn’t even know that such things existed. That goes right at the top of my list. I guess that ligers move down to number two. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/6 "2008-09-17T17:15:49Z")
Any kind of bear, especially polar bears. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/7 "2008-09-17T17:16:45Z")
Caracals are breath-takingly beautiful. And highly effective killers. I love 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/8 "2008-09-17T17:18:16Z")
The big cats, especially the Black Panther. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/9 "2008-09-17T17:18:52Z")
Tigers and dolphins, far and away. Don’t know why, nothing considered about it, they just appeal to me on a purely emotional and aesthetic level. They are, simply, wicked cool. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/10 "2008-09-17T17:19:34Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Wow, I didn’t even know that such things existed. That goes right at the top of my list. > > I guess that ligers move down to number two. I got my SIL a stuffed okapi toy when I sent $50 to the save the critters foundation for her christmas present. Each one of them got a different critter. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/11 "2008-09-17T17:26:31Z")
Owls, bats, rats, skunks, possums, elephants…you know, basically the sort of critters a witch would keep around the house. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/12 "2008-09-17T17:27:47Z")
[Echidnas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna). I’ve seen them in the wild in three different states in Australia, and in zoos. They are really odd mammals – egg-laying and spiny (though the spines aren’t relly sharp: I’ve patted one) – and according to the Wikipedia article, > [@](#): > > Male echidnas have a four-headed penis, but only two of the heads are used during mating. The other two heads “shut down” and do not grow in size. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal copulates. However, I’ve not personally examined an echidna penis. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/13 "2008-09-17T17:28:05Z")
Dolphins, without a doubt. Loved them for some unknown reason when I was younger (might have had something to do with the fact that they always look like they’re _smiling_), but when I got older and learned how smart and empathetic and communicative and compassionate they are. . .just wow. About 20 years ago (just for frame of reference, I’m 46), I found out that in certain places, it’s possible to _pay money_ to freakin’ _swim with the dolphins_. As soon as I heard this, it went on my List Of Things To Do Before I Die ™. Next year, the family’s going to Discovery Cove in Florida, and I’m going to swim with dolphins. I’m pretty sure I’ll cry. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/14 "2008-09-17T17:34:18Z")
[Fennec foxes](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1051/902205466_dcf2c3c9d3.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/15 "2008-09-17T17:40:40Z")
Chupacabras. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/16 "2008-09-17T17:42:57Z")
We have a lot of ravens around here and I’ve always enjoyed watching them stalk around doing their raven-y stuff. Last week I wasted quite a lot of time watching one down in the parking lot below my office working on getting the top off someone’s abandoned Starbuck’s cup. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/17 "2008-09-17T17:43:06Z")
Dolphins are awesome. Some time around 5 years ago I went on a whale watch out of Gloucester. Sadly, we only saw one whale (baleen, I think), but hundreds of dolphins. They would jump out of the water in twos and threes, and were all around us. And they looked so happy. Whales are cool, too. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/18 "2008-09-17T17:50:19Z")
[Pangolins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin) are really cool. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/19 "2008-09-17T17:52:19Z")
Saltwater crocodiles. They’re practically dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/20 "2008-09-17T17:52:47Z")
Dragons. If that doesn’t count, then tigers. I read a lot of Calvin & Hobbes as a kid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995.md?page=2)