It has always amused me that the tourists to the US that I’ve spoken to are often very excited to see raccoons, and disappointed if they don’t see them before they leave.
Some others I’ve noticed on the east coast of the US are blue jays and cardinals. Boy, do people get excited about those if they’ve never seen them before! Very pretty birds of course, just very easy to get used to and see as uninteresting as well.
Here in Florida it is alligators, certainly. We also have remarkable birds, but it’s alligators.
I went on an alligator boat in Florida and they were cool sure but the Anhingas hunting and catching fish were cooler, I didn’t even know you had those!
Can confirm, been to Florida several times and I liked seeing the alligators.
I’m older now and appreciate birds more so perhaps I should come back.
I’m older now and appreciate birds
This is 100% how it goes.
Really? It’s a thing?
I want to make friends with some crows really badly.
I absolutely love crows too. They are just so clever and OMG so metal, I once saw two crows bashing a baby bird on the sidewalk then sharing it for a meal. They are certainly not gentle birds but are so smart and so interesting.
Yeah truly fascinating. I’ve been waiting until my routine is a bit more dialled in so I can find a spot to go at the same time everyday and see about making some friends.
eh, you just have to bait and traIn em like every other animal.
just be careful about bird law
Chipmunks. I once went to a zoo in Chicago with someone who grew up in South Africa and he was more fascinated with the chipmunks running along the paths than with anything else at the zoo.
Swans. It’s a wonder to me that such an arrogant bird ever became the national pride of Denmark. But tourists freak out about them, thanks to H.C. Andersen.
Koalas
Are these common nowadays? Thought their environments got burned down.
No, no, they were towed outside the environment!
…assic.
*cl
whoops, front fell off
That’s not very typical
Are you confessing to something
Just a lot of the koala habitats got destroyed by wildfires and they’re more endangered than ever now. So I’m surprised if they’re commonly seen.
Alligators…not sure if that’s considered “common” or not. We don’t see them on a regular basis depending on your activities. If you fish/kayak on a lot, you’ll see them. If you don’t, you generally won’t unless there’s a drought. Then they’ll be in intersections or in your parking lot at work looking for water.
They’re fairly common in Central Florida. Many large retention ponds have them and they just get relocated once they reach a certain size. It was still fun to be standing on a friend’s apartment balcony and spot an alligator laying next to the retention pond.
Relevant username!
People everywhere ive been go apeshit over a squirrel.
I live in an area with grey/brown squirrels. When I went to Ohio for the first time, I was far more excited about seeing a black squirrel than I should have been.
Yesh same here. Black ones are becoming more common out here
Not a tourist, but a girlfriend that grew up in Long Beach, and moved to the East Coast, stopped me dead on the street one day, and asked, “what in the world is THAT‽‽‽” I looked where she was looking and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, said, “what is what?”
“The furry thing with the tail!”
“You mean the squirrel?”
“That’s what they look like in real life‽‽‽”
Guaras, or Guacamayas, I suppose. Think they’re called Macaws in english. They’re neat, pretty feathers and all. Shame they’re hardly ever visible outside of a zoo, unless you’re in the right spot at the right time and you’re really paying attention.
I’m from the US and I still get excited when I see raccoons. I love those lil guys.
I read this in Linda Belcher’s voice.
I’m like that with turkeys. They are hilarious weirdos.
They’re terrifying
Wild turkeys can be very aggressive.
Domestic turkeys can as well. I had to beat one of of my little brother cause it was bullying him. In our own front yard. My brother was very satisfied that Thanksgiving
It’s not a native species, but in some German cities, you can see a lot of rose-ringed parakeets. They really stand out between the other local birds, so if you go to places like Cologne or Heidelberg, it’s quite likely to spot them, especially since they’re so loud. A few months ago, I moved to a city without parakeets and frankly, I miss them a lot.
Fuckers will scare the shit out of you when they fly 40cm above your head while you’re on a bike.
Just minding your own business and suddenly a giant screetching flock of green will fly above your head from behind
Monkeys in a very snowy forest. I remember feeding them nuts once.
They’re called macaques.
“Do you wanna see a macaque?”
- “I hope you’re not Italian!?!!!”
Black bears of Surrey. (UK).
None! I live in Korea, and the local wildlife was long ago mostly displaced or eaten by the seething mass of humanity. Once upon a time, there were some cool bears and tigers even. There are some nice, big herons still around I suppose. Oh, some tiny deer, too.
When I first moved, I was happy to just see some robins.
I still get a giggle when I see them pretending to be the Amazon delivery crew.
Moose. We get European summer students and seeing one is the highlight of their animal watching when they’re here, apparently.
Personally, I’m more impressed with elk, a bull elk with a full rack is pretty awesome.
Who doesn’t like a full rack.
