# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**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 19, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/81 "2008-09-19T15:20:20Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > That’s not a critter, that’s a monster! Note to self: never go near the water in the Southeastern US. Why would you admit to such a trepidation knowing that _I_ am posting in the thread, given our current war over the fate of you-know-who? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/82 "2008-09-19T15:36:04Z")
Manul cats. I have wanted one for years. Anything that fuzzy must be domesticable. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LShryOLorDA) ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/83 "2008-09-19T15:54:04Z")
> [@PeskiPiksi](#): > > 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). ☹ What you want to do is find a swim with wild dolphins place. There aren’t many. The one I went to there was a “hermit” dolphin, which is apparently a dolphin that just likes hanging out on his own, chillin’ without any dolphin friends. They are (so we were told) more approachable by humans than wild dolphins. But, since he was wild, there were no “put the kid on the dolphin’s back for a ride.” I suspect he was being fed by the people running the deal, but was free to swim out to sea at any time. He apparently had a schedule he kept to, for when he’d come in to the cove/beach area. Basically, we snorkeled around, he buzzed by, blew bubbles, occasionally went off to play in the surf, buzzed back by, and then waved his very large penis at us. Otherwise, I’m all for any marine mammal – otters, seals, sea lions, dolphins, etc. ---
**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 19, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/84 "2008-09-19T16:10:53Z")
> [@Marienee](#): > > I once had a conservatory for endangered cats. I would like to say that we had a snow leopard, as I like them in principle but never met one – our permits only went up to 50 pounds. Of the ones we actually had, I really enjoyed the tamarins best… Tamarins are monkeys, not cats. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/85 "2008-09-19T16:32:33Z")
I like the **springbok**. How can you fail to adore a creature who moves by “pronking”? Pronk, pronk, pronk! 😃 > **[Springbok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springbok_(antelope))** > > The springbok or springbuck (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780. Three subspecies are identified. A slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches 71 to 86 cm (28 to 34 in) at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kg (60 and 93 lb). Both sexes have a pair of black, 35-to-50 cm (14-t... [http://abbott-infotech.co.za/animals%20in%20the%20kalahari%20desert.html](http://abbott-infotech.co.za/animals%20in%20the%20kalahari%20desert.html) ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/86 "2008-09-19T16:56:01Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > [Fennec foxes](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1051/902205466_dcf2c3c9d3.jpg) Cute, but I always liked their polar _(hah!)_ opposite: [http://www.dongettyphoto.com/churchill/new%20images/ArcticFox1w.jpg](http://www.dongettyphoto.com/churchill/new%20images/ArcticFox1w.jpg) The Arctic fox. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/87 "2008-09-19T18:15:28Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Tamarins are monkeys, not cats. No wonder the damn things wouldn’t eat cat food. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/88 "2008-09-19T19:12:45Z")
> [@Lionne](#): > > You can buy a Hyacinth - they’re very expensive and require lots of room, but they are sold as pets. Well, this is one of those rare situations where extreme poverty is actually an advantage-- it prevents me from being tempted into something like this. Even if I could afford a hyacinth macaw, I mistrust my ability to take care of one responsibly. I have enough trouble trying to outwit my ferrets on a daily basis, and they’re dumber than tube socks; I have absolutely no confidence in my capacity to control an amazingly intelligent bird with a scream that can be heard for miles and a beak that can tear through wrought iron. Not to mention the fact that it’ll easily outlive me by decades, and then who’ll take care of it? No, even if I had the money, I’d much rather use it for an opportunity to see the birds in the wild. As it is, I’m happy to visit them at the zoo, which at least has the time and resources to care for them properly. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/89 "2008-09-20T02:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Shagnasty > _The weirdest animal I know of in the U.S. is the alligator gar._ Those gars are nasty-looking creatures. There is _another_ quite large and freaky fish in our rivers–the Paddlefish: > **[Paddlefish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish)** > > Recent genera > Fossil genera > Paddlefish are members of the ray-finned fish family Polyodontidae, which belong to the basal order Acipenseriformes, one of two living groups within this order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). Their most distinctive feature is an elongated rostrum that enhances electroreception, allowing them to detect prey in murky water. Both recent and fossil paddlefish occur exclusively in North America and Eastern Asia. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995/90 "2008-09-20T15:43:56Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I like the **springbok**. > > How can you fail to adore a creature who moves by “pronking”? Pronk, pronk, pronk! 😃 > > [Springbok - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springbok_(antelope)) > > [http://abbott-infotech.co.za/animals%20in%20the%20kalahari%20desert.html](http://abbott-infotech.co.za/animals%20in%20the%20kalahari%20desert.html) Tasty, too! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-non-domesticated-critter/463995.md?page=4)