Countries to Admire Fascinating Wild Animals (Part One)

For many, travel has become a normal part of life, a hobby if you will. Traveling the world, discovering new places and meeting new people has its share of adventures and excitement. And travel is even more thrilling when you experience it with wild animals in their natural habitat. Whether it’s a Bengal tiger, orangutans or penguins, it’s about the simple act of witnessing the animal perform its daily activities. Don’t know where to go to admire some gorgeous animals that you don’t get to see in everyday life? Not to worry! In this article, we’ve gathered a list of countries you can go. Enjoy your reading!

Canada – Polar Bears

The best place in the world to see the elusive polar bear in the wild is undoubtedly Hudson Bay in northern Canada. Some 300 polar bears gather outside the town of Churchill in late October to wait for winter to form the ice pack that will allow them to travel north in search of their favorite prey: seals. The observation is done from special elevated vehicles.

Costa Rica – Turtles

The Tortuguero National Park, in Costa Rica, is one of the best places in the world to observe turtles. Its very name, Tortuguero (which means region of turtles) indicates that it is a special nesting area for turtles, especially green and leatherback turtles. Green turtles lay their eggs between July and October; leatherbacks, between March and June. The Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha is another major turtle nesting center. The Tamar Project runs conservation and awareness programs there: the best time to go is from December to June.

Borneo Island – Orangutans

The island of Borneo was once a kind of tree-covered Eden. Today, half of the island is deforested, but the world’s largest population of orangutans survives in the other half. They are found in Tanjung Puting National Park, in the Indonesian part of Borneo. A biosphere reserve in which eight other species of primates also live. The starting point for the observation tours is the Camp Leakey research center, founded in 1971 by Biruté Galdikas, the Canadian primatologist who has been fighting for four decades to save the orangutans.

Magdalena Island/ Cape Town – Penguins

To see penguins, you have to go to the southern hemisphere. On islands like Paulet, in Antarctica, up to 200,000 pairs of Adelie penguins can nest, but it is not easy to get there. More accessible is Magdalena Island, in the Strait of Magellan, 30 km from Punta Arenas (Chile), where about 150,000 Magellanic penguins live, or the Otway seine penguin colony, 65 km from Punta Arenas, where they nest from October to March. The Cape Penguins, which live near Cape Town, South Africa, are also very accessible; it is the only species that breeds in Africa. To see them, you have to go during the southern summer. There are also Cape penguins on some islands in Namibia, but you need a special permit to see them.

India/Nepal/Bangladesh – Bengal Tigers

The Bengal tiger is the largest subspecies of tiger that exists and lives in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma and Tibet. It can live in a wide range of ecosystems, from savannahs to tropical forests, and is known for its orange skin and elegant appearance. Indiscriminate hunting has made it one of the most endangered species. Seeing one of these powerful felines in Asia brings the same excitement as seeing a lion in Africa. One of the best places to see them is in India’s Rathambore National Park, 160 kilometers from Jaipur; no one knows the exact number of individuals that live in this park, but it is estimated that there are over 65. Another place with a large population of Bengal tigers is the Royal Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal.

Here we go! You now have a list of a few places to go to see wildlife. If you want to learn more, come back later to check out part two of our article. Where have you ever been and where have you had the chance to admire animals? We’d love to read you, so be sure to share your experience with us in the comments below.