Has anyone ever thought about what animals they have seen in the WILD? (No zoos, aviaries, shows, or small reserves) I've chosen not to list insects.

No matter how few you have seen...post it...the results will be insightful.

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Here is my list (Organized by country)

Canada
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N. American black bears - several from a ski lift - below about 20 feet - Whistler
Bald Eagles - Near Whistler

USA
---
Canadian Geese - Seattle
deer - while driving and in parking lots
marmots - Mt.Rainier National Park
bison / buffalo - Yellowstone National Park
elk - Northern California
butteryflies - various
White Mountain Goats - Mt. Rushmore
rattlesnake, garden snake, others - California, Michigan
small birds - Robins, crows, bluebirds, seagulls, ducks / mallards
chipmunks, squirrels
pelicans / cranes
sea lions
dolphin pods - Southern California
various hawks
salmon - hatchery

Costa Rica
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various small colored birds
Tapir
Large Iguanas
monkeys
hummingbirds - Mt.Arenal

South Africa
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monkeys, warthogs, giraffes, African elephants, white rhinoceros, zebras, possibly African buffalo (Don't recall), possibly a hippo - Pilaensberg National Park

Asian elephant herd 65 approx - Sri Lanka


Australia
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Kangaroos
Thorny Toad
crocodiles - Kakadu NP
gray filesnakes - Kakadu NP
Largest Bird of Prey - don't remember the name
Koala bears
kookaburra - Australia (Heard it, didn't see)


Kea bird (Mtn parrot) - New Zealand

toucan - Brazil



Underwater
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(Palau, Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia,USA, Australia)

whale shark (Kid sized at 20 feet I'm guessing, not full grown)
white tip and black tip reef sharks
large manta rays
large hawksbill turtles- 4 feet+ max
large Napoleon Wrasses
various coral - soft and hard
gorgonian fans
myriad of different fish - including barracuda schools, pipe/coronet fish schools, tuna, trevally, butterfly, sand, clown, trigger, groupers, rainbow runners, jacks
numerous nudibranches
different moray eels (Gray, spotted, yellow striped)- both in holes and free swimming
octopi - small - med size
giant clams
various invertebrates
dolphins


I'm sure I have forgotten something...but this list is pretty complete I believe. I wonder if there is some program out there you can check off animals you have seen....that would be cool.

That's funny...being from Montana (and now working on a farm) deer are like pets, and there are bison everywhere... But beyond that, in the wild I've seen~

Moose, Elk, brown bear, black bears (very close)
Eagles, wild turkeys
Monkeys, camels
Amazing mystery fish (snorkling)
And unknown beautiful birds

I remember seeing pelicans and flamingos for the first time thinking how amazingly cool it was, but then realized they're like pets to their locals, too.
Good topic!

This will conclusively reveal I have been nowhere exotic (yet):

Fox
Cat (well it looked pretty wild)
Various small birds of Prey

And that’s about it. Woohoo.

The most exciting animals I've ever seen are either coyotes or beavers. Coyotes, because they are now the top of the animal food chain around here, and beavers because they are quite rare.

U.S.
Hmmm....

Red Fox
Coyote
Black Bear
Pronghorn
Bison
Bighorn Sheep
Marmot
Pika
Kit Fox (yay!)
Kangaroo Rat
Jackrabbit
Beaver
Muskrat
Rabbits, Squirrels, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, voles...
Raccoon
Opossum
Skunk (dead) ;-)
Elk
340 bird species
A few snakes/lizards
White-tailed deer

Hawaii (I count separately)
Nene (native goose)
Several non-native birds, and native oceanic birds
Amakihi, Apapane, and I'iwi -- all somewhat endangered birds of the forests.


Spain

Stork (no nature trips!! :-( )


Greece

Lots of lizards
12 bird species

Last fall in Nova Scotia I saw an eagle, a moose and waaaaaay in the distance, the spouts from whales in the ocean. In the same area I've also seen jellyfish.

On other trips in the US and Canada, I've seen moose, elk, coyotes, fox, deer and wild turkeys (doing a hilarious mating dance). I've heard wolves howling in the wild. And on a hike in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario we got waaaaaay to close to bear while eating trail mix. The bushes rattled, something very big snuffled nearby. Didn't see the bear, though. We threw our snacks over our shoulders and took off down the mountainside, Looney Toons style.

Oh, and mosquitos the size of small aircraft. Crafty buggers.

Jet

Jetgirl - you're SO lucky to have seen moose more than once!! I have friends who have struck out time and time again when they've been in their habitat. Cool!

And you reminded me I saw some Orca whale pods when I was in the Seattle area. That was neat.

Orcas
Grey whales
dolphins
flying fish
octopi
eel
rays
snapping turtles
bison
deer
water ouzel
Western Tanager
dove
bald eagles
golden eagles
sea lions
elephant seals
otters
beaver
raccoon
opossum
skunk
fox
coyotes
snipes
cayman
sea snakes
moose
black bears
coatimundis
toucans
rhesus monkeys
Roosevelt elk
Australian backpackers

lets see,

I'll start with the animals around home,

Red, grey and flying Squirells
chipmunks
rats
field mice
garder, gopher, king and timber rattler snakes,
black bears
white tail deer and mule deer
cyote
grey wolf
timber wolf
grey fox and red fox
elk
moose including a baby moose which was our alarm clock every morning the last time I went fishing in Canada
racoon
muscrat
skunk
possum
beaver
mole
bobcat
mountain lion
bison both in the wild and at a farm
wild turkey
bald eagle
hawks
turkey vulture
seagulls
pigions
blue jays
robins and countless other birds
lizards salamanders box and snapping turtules and

well my fingers are getting tired so I'll come back later!

Just the rare highlights: mountain lions (twice), grizzly bears, whale sharks, guanacas (being hunted by pumas), Mountain caribou (the most endangered large mammal in North America-3-15 left), mating humpback whales, polar bears, walruses, Woodhens (once only 25 left), a one time sighting of a blue whale off Tonga, and the most rare sighting of all: a wolverine.

<<you're SO lucky to have seen moose more than once!!>.

News break: I saw one on the Big Wood River on an early morning bike ride today.

Cool Salmo! I live in the burbs around Detroit. You wouldn't think there'd be a whole lot of wild life, but I've seen deer and fox. There's a nearby pond and, in addition to the regular waterfowl, I've see Cormorants - wings out - on the rocks. We've also had a recent sighting of a "Mountain Lion" in a wooded area near where I used to live a few miles away.

Jet

I haven't seen porcupine listed yet, so I'll add that.

It was at Philmont, for all you former scouts.

I graduated in 2004 from Berry College in Rome, GA, the largest college campus in the world at ca. 29,000 acres. This for 1800 students. Just stuff spotted on campus:

White-tailed deer - deer:student ratio is around 5:1
Canadian geese
Wild Turkeys
Skunks (including a white one that lived at the girl's dorm)
Beavers
Groundhog
Snapping turtles
Great blue herons
Bluebirds
Hawks
Quail
Mallards
various songbirds
mice (in my doorm)

[pedantic mode]

Ahem. Those are not "Canadian" geese, as they do not carry passports and have little flag patches sewn onto their backpacks. Those are the Canada goose (or geese).

[/pedantic mode]