# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/21 "2008-09-17T18:03:19Z")
Cuttlefish. They can do some [freaky things](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me1CY3r4450&feature=related) with their skin colorations. ---
**Author:** ![AT\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@AT\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AT_Love)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/22 "2008-09-17T18:15:40Z")
I’m on board with anything fluffy and cute but most especially the slow loris. Love them. ---
**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, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/23 "2008-09-17T18:18:06Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [Fennec foxes](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1051/902205466_dcf2c3c9d3.jpg) Ah! That’s the cutest pic. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/24 "2008-09-17T18:31:09Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > Ah! That’s the cutest pic. I know! OMG their little heads fit perfectly together!! Ahhhhh…squeeee! Regaining my dignity…I have always been particularly fond of the big cats (Christian the Lion…_sniff_) and [sea otters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/25 "2008-09-17T18:33:11Z")
Bats. Especially the super-specialized ones, like vampire bats or fisher bats. Anything with a kidney as versatile as the vampire bat’s, or with a pelvic girdle that can rotate 180 degrees while in flight, is just too, too cool. I also have a fondness for coyotes, raccoons, and [thylacines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine). ---
**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, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/26 "2008-09-17T18:36:12Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Owls, bats, rats, skunks, possums, elephants…you know, basically the sort of critters a witch would keep around the house. :smack: D’oh! Forgot the meerkats! ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/27 "2008-09-17T18:39:44Z")
I always wanted to get a [capybara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara). It would be great having a 140 pound guinea pig. There was a couple running wild in San Diego about 25 years ago, and my friend claimed he saw one running across the freeway one night but he was probably drunk. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/28 "2008-09-17T18:54:04Z")
moosen. meeses. more than one moose. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/29 "2008-09-17T19:02:16Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > I always wanted to get a [capybara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara). It would be great having a 140 pound guinea pig. There was a couple running wild in San Diego about 25 years ago, and my friend claimed he saw one running across the freeway one night but he was probably drunk. But the real question is, where would a capybara get liquor? 😃 My favourites are [cougars](http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Robert-Barber/Winking-Cougar-Print-C10054490.jpeg), [otters](http://www.fortrossstatepark.org/images/variousphotos/otter02.jpg), and [wolverines.](http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/mammalogy/mamwash/Images/wolverine.jpg) Cougars because they are so supremely adapted to do what they do where they do it, otters because they are so fun (and pretty good at what they do, too), and wolverines because they’re just so bad-ass. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/30 "2008-09-17T19:09:13Z")
Skunks are pretty. Raccoons are smart and attractive but menacing. We often forget that we have large wild cats in the wild in the U.S. Mountain lions and bobcats each have a large territory and they sometimes turn up in unexpected places. Alligators are much more laid back than crocodiles. I even had a pet one when I was young. I have swum in alligator infected water many times and even within sight of them. Alligators are the stoned out cousin of crocodiles laying on the beach. The weirdest animal I know of in the U.S. is the alligator gar (link below). It really is a freak of nature. They can grow to be huge, they have teeth, and they sometimes swim with their heads above water. The first time I took my wife fishing in Louisiana, one stuck his giant dinosaur head above the water and chased her. She must be Jesus because I have never seen anyone run on water before. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alligator_gar.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alligator_gar.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/31 "2008-09-17T19:17:05Z")
[The hoatzin](http://www.treknature.com/gallery/South_America/Peru/photo64427.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/32 "2008-09-17T19:23:54Z")
I will second bats and add [ospreys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey). ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/33 "2008-09-17T19:54:12Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > 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. (colorizing mine) Why thanks, **Tyger**. Personally, I’d have to go with mountain lions. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/34 "2008-09-17T20:19:43Z")
Elephants. Big, strong, gentle and intelligent. What’s not to love? And Lions. I want to cuddle with them and play with their big furry feet. Not that I’m going to be attempting it anytime soon, of course. And **norinew** , I too, had dreams of swimming with the dolphins until I learned about [this](http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/272_what_s_wrong_with_swimming_with_dolphins_.cfm). ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/35 "2008-09-17T20:31:14Z")
> [@PeskiPiksi](#): > > Elephants. Big, strong, gentle and intelligent. What’s not to love? [This](http://in.truveo.com/Elephant-Going-Mad/id/1590407555), [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGVH4IQ2nA), or [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dSK4HSsKI), mayhap. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/36 "2008-09-17T20:37:54Z")
[Raccoons](http://images.usatoday.com/tech/_photos/2006/08/23/raccoons.jpg). As a gardener they bring me (and my poor dog) no end of stress, but I have nuff respect for those critters, thriving in the cities right beside us. They are insanely smart and brave, while at the same time really chilled out, qualities I profoundly respect in humans. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/37 "2008-09-17T21:02:30Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > [This](http://in.truveo.com/Elephant-Going-Mad/id/1590407555), [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGVH4IQ2nA), or [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dSK4HSsKI), mayhap. Okay, I certainly don’t claim to be an expert on elephants, although of course I knew they’re \*capable \*of violence. But I will just note that the elephants in the first and third videos were captive elephants, and the third one was provoked. We don’t know about the first. Who knows what kind of conditions they were living in. And in the second video, the other elephants came to the baby’s rescue, so it’s hardly a condemnation of the whole species. Sorry, but you’re not going to be able to talk me out of my love of elephants. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/38 "2008-09-17T21:09:08Z")
I love bats. The only mammal capable of flight, the echolocation of the microchiroptera, the cuteness. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/39 "2008-09-17T21:29:41Z")
Otters in any form. They seem to have the best time, and if I had to come back as an animal, I’d be an otter. It’s cool how they can float while cracking open shellfish on their tummies with a rock. I guess being a female would have its downside. On a documentary I saw, they said the male bites the females nose, bloodying it, after mating. That’s the sign to other males (I guess) that they’re off-limits. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pt46EHqJXu0/hqdefault.jpg "Cute Baby Sea Otters at Monterey Bay Aquarium") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt46EHqJXu0) ---
**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, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/40 "2008-09-17T22:40:35Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > (colorizing mine) > > Why thanks, **Tyger**. > > Personally, I’d have to go with mountain lions. Have you read [Digger](http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/digger.php)? It’s to blame for my current love for wombats and hyenas. And possibly for my myth infatuation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995.md?page=3)