World's finest wildlife destinations

Luca Bronzi

Luca Bronzi

Well-Known Member
I thought it would be interesting to open a thread about the most interesting wildlife destinations on Earth, which is a topic often discussed on other forums (such as mammalwatching).
You can talk about particular countries you visited and the wildlife you saw there (and why you would consider it a "top destination"), for example, simply talk about the places you would like to visit for its animals (in my case, Ethiopia and Uganda) or simply what are the best spots in the world for this particular activity in your opinion.

I'm sorry if you didn't understand the post, I'm still improving in English and maybe the way I write is a bit confusing.
 
Okay, to start the thread off, Sabah in Borneo. I spent two weeks there, and built a very pleasing list with essentially no effort, including Elephant, Leopard Cat, Colugo, Slow Loris, Chevrotain, Proboscis Monkey, Orangutan, Monitor Lizard, Flying Lizard, Pit Viper, Scorpion, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Bornean Bristlehead, Crested Jay etc. Missed so much as well, heard Great Argus, dipped out on Green Broadbills and Fruithunter. It is rich, relatively inexpensive, and easy to do.
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
Okay, to start the thread off, Sabah in Borneo. I spent two weeks there, and built a very pleasing list with essentially no effort, including Elephant, Leopard Cat, Colugo, Slow Loris, Chevrotain, Proboscis Monkey, Orangutan, Monitor Lizard, Flying Lizard, Pit Viper, Scorpion, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Bornean Bristlehead, Crested Jay etc. Missed so much as well, heard Great Argus, dipped out on Green Broadbills and Fruithunter. It is rich, relatively inexpensive, and easy to do.
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That is a place I really want to visit.
I know an agency here in Italy which organises wildlife trips all atound the world and also in Borneo, but this one in particular it's pretty expensive (3.600 for two weeks without flights). I think I wouldn't find something better though.
Did you see moonrats?
 
No joy with moon rats, but didn’t try to target them either. My trip (for two of us, with guide) was organised with a local company who dealt with all the arrangements very effectively. I can send you the details if you wish.
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
No joy with moon rats, but didn’t try to target them either. My trip (for two of us, with guide) was organised with a local company who dealt with all the arrangements very effectively. I can send you the details if you wish.
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For now I'm not really interested in going to Borneo in the next future (I have other priorities for the next years), but thanks anyway :)
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
Where are your priorities?
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Next year I wanted to go to Africa (Uganda or Tanzania), but probably with all the covid situation it's better to choose another destination (I thought about a road trip Stockholm-Nordkapp-Oslo with some stops for birding and whale-watching or a visit to Northern Italy to visit Gran Paradiso National Park and Pelagos Sanctuary, respectively for mountain fauna and cetaceans).
In the far future I would want to go to Ethiopia and going back to Egypt to try to see crab-eatig plovers, goliath herons, dugongs and sea turtles.
 
Uganda is also a place I would recommend; very high class lodges, most of which are underused so available at very realistic rates. Great birding, such as Shoebill. Highly recommend Gorilla and Chimp watching; the former particularly is expensive, but spending an hour with them is the experience of a lifetime, while being amidst 100 + chimps is another unforgettable experience. Other megafauna maybe not as prominent as in Botswana perhaps, but had good views of lion, leopard, giraffe etc. Botswana, I saw hunting dogs chasing wildebeest, and was surrounded by 600+ elephants!
 
Tetzoo Quizzer said:
Uganda is also a place I would recommend; very high class lodges, most of which are underused so available at very realistic rates. Great birding, such as Shoebill. Highly recommend Gorilla and Chimp watching; the former particularly is expensive, but spending an hour with them is the experience of a lifetime, while being amidst 100 + chimps is another unforgettable experience. Other megafauna maybe not as prominent as in Botswana perhaps, but had good views of lion, leopard, giraffe etc. Botswana, I saw hunting dogs chasing wildebeest, and was surrounded by 600+ elephants!
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I didn't know wildebeests and hunting dogs occurred in Uganda.


Finland would be nice if it wasn't ridicolously expensive, but it's another option because the agency I know also do trips there and in Norway.
 
Don’t know Sweden or Norway well, but recommend Finland; Lake population of Ringed Seal, hides for Bear and Wolverine, Great Grey, Ural, Pygmy, Tengmalm’s and Hawk Owls, and access to the Norwegian coast for Steller’s Eider , Brunnich’s Guillemot and cetaceans.
 
Having just visited last February, I can't but recommend Sri Lanka. There is wildlife everywhere. Very scenic, especially in the south, friendly people, easy to get around, and can easily be done by the budget traveller, with plenty of options to "upgrade" if you wish. I was hoping to visit Uganda next February but have had to put that off of course. I did visit Chobe National Park in Botswana a few years back. We were there for only four days but had a fantastic time. Lastly I do want to visit Central and South America in the future, and have become aware of Bolivia as a country that is cheap to visit but has wonderful and very accessible wildlife.
 
MRJ said:
Having just visited last February, I can't but recommend Sri Lanka. There is wildlife everywhere. Very scenic, especially in the south, friendly people, easy to get around, and can easily be done by the budget traveller, with plenty of options to "upgrade" if you wish. I was hoping to visit Uganda next February but have had to put that off of course. I did visit Chobe National Park in Botswana a few years back. We were there for only four days but had a fantastic time. Lastly I do want to visit Central and South America in the future, and have become aware of Bolivia as a country that is cheap to visit but has wonderful and very accessible wildlife.
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I've thought about sri lanka a lot these times (its birdlife is incredible and sloth bears are among my most-wanted animals) , but if I have to choose between Africa and Asia for safari I would go for the former.
But I'll give it a try when I can
 
Slovakia is good for bear watching in mountains in central and northern part like Nízké Tatry, Vysoké Tatry, Malá Fatra, Velká Fatra. +1300 bears live within area smaller than Wales. Observation is almost guaranteed. Bonus is endemic subspecies of chamois and marmot. Slovakia is affordable alternative to Scandinavia or Alps.
 
Depending what do you want.

I like Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina and Costa Rica, because you are free to travel on your own and explore beautiful landscapes and rich wildlife. And infrastructure is good and there is actually wildlife to see.

When you meet an animal on your own, unexpectedly, it stays in your memory. Be it how a rustle of leaves in Sepilok turns to be a huge orangutan, driving in Australia you see your first emus, you get a tip from a local man on the outskirts of Churchill and drive to see a polar bear - this memory stays with you forever. Strangely, from organized tours I bring lots of photos, but they just fade in the memory - like yet another film.

Some other places force visitors to buy expensive, and often rather useless guides or tours. There are also some real tourist traps like Galapagos and Komodo, which ridiculously overcharge wildlife enthusiasts, and at the same locals destroy the wildlife and claim that tourists are the problem.
 
Jurek7 said:
Depending what do you want.

I like Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina and Costa Rica, because you are free to travel on your own and explore beautiful landscapes and rich wildlife. And infrastructure is good and there is actually wildlife to see.

When you meet an animal on your own, unexpectedly, it stays in your memory. Be it how a rustle of leaves in Sepilok turns to be a huge orangutan, driving in Australia you see your first emus, you get a tip from a local man on the outskirts of Churchill and drive to see a polar bear - this memory stays with you forever. Strangely, from organized tours I bring lots of photos, but they just fade in the memory - like yet another film.

Some other places force visitors to buy expensive, and often rather useless guides or tours. There are also some real tourist traps like Galapagos and Komodo, which ridiculously overcharge wildlife enthusiasts, and at the same locals destroy the wildlife and claim that tourists are the problem.
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In what way do locals destroy the local wildlife in Galapagos?
Generally I think that tourists are the main problems in certain areas.
 
Jurek7 said:
Depending what do you want.

I like Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina and Costa Rica, because you are free to travel on your own and explore beautiful landscapes and rich wildlife. And infrastructure is good and there is actually wildlife to see.

When you meet an animal on your own, unexpectedly, it stays in your memory. Be it how a rustle of leaves in Sepilok turns to be a huge orangutan, driving in Australia you see your first emus, you get a tip from a local man on the outskirts of Churchill and drive to see a polar bear - this memory stays with you forever. Strangely, from organized tours I bring lots of photos, but they just fade in the memory - like yet another film.

Some other places force visitors to buy expensive, and often rather useless guides or tours. There are also some real tourist traps like Galapagos and Komodo, which ridiculously overcharge wildlife enthusiasts, and at the same locals destroy the wildlife and claim that tourists are the problem.
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I agree with these sentiments entirely. In addition to the Galapagos and Komodo, the Amazon basin, Pantanal, Antarctic/Subantarctic, East Africa, and India are all famed wildlife destinations where guides and/or tour groups are basically necessary. Sometimes it makes sense (how else are you going to get to the Subantarctic, after all!), but this usually means focusing on "star" species, limits on the amount of time that can be spent in the field, and massive price tags. There are obviously pluses as well in terms of knowing where to find key species and not having to worry about planning, but for my own wildlife viewing I've tried to limit this type of wildlife viewing to things like whale-watching boats where going independently isn't feasible.

One more place to add to the list of great independent wildlife destinations is Namibia. It's got a great "big game" park, Etosha, which is similar to parks in South Africa in that it allows self-driving and camping. Namibia also has coastal penguin and seal colonies and massive sand dune deserts filled with weird little things like web-footed geckos. It's also great in that large mammals still roam across the countryside outside of parks. Just going down the highway might bring sightings of Giraffe, Mountain Zebra, Gemsbok, or herds of thousands of Springbok. I know one person who came across a Black Rhino browsing by a roadside in northwest Namibia.
 
Gondwana said:
I agree with these sentiments entirely. In addition to the Galapagos and Komodo, the Amazon basin, Pantanal, Antarctic/Subantarctic, East Africa, and India are all famed wildlife destinations where guides and/or tour groups are basically necessary. Sometimes it makes sense (how else are you going to get to the Subantarctic, after all!), but this usually means focusing on "star" species, limits on the amount of time that can be spent in the field, and massive price tags. There are obviously pluses as well in terms of knowing where to find key species and not having to worry about planning, but for my own wildlife viewing I've tried to limit this type of wildlife viewing to things like whale-watching boats where going independently isn't feasible.

One more place to add to the list of great independent wildlife destinations is Namibia. It's got a great "big game" park, Etosha, which is similar to parks in South Africa in that it allows self-driving and camping. Namibia also has coastal penguin and seal colonies and massive sand dune deserts filled with weird little things like web-footed geckos. It's also great in that large mammals still roam across the countryside outside of parks. Just going down the highway might bring sightings of Giraffe, Mountain Zebra, Gemsbok, or herds of thousands of Springbok. I know one person who came across a Black Rhino browsing by a roadside in northwest Namibia.
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The problem with Namibia for me is that big cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) and some classical savannah animals (hippos and buffaloes) are generally very difficult to see, unless you go to the Caprivi Strip where leopards are stil a rarity (although there is a minimum chance for wild dogs).
However, it's pretty cheap and hosts many species that, once ticked the classic safari animals, I'd love to see (Heaviside's Dolphins, Black Mongooses, Damara Terns...).

Also, I think penguins aren't very common in Namibia; as far as I knos there isn't any place such as Boulders Beach or Betty's Bay.
 
A very underrated place is Morocco. I don't many companies offer Wildlife tours but if you do a little research, rent a car and travel around, you'll get a very wide range of species without going accross the world in you're based in Europe.
A very good diversity of seabirds, with Razorbills migrating as far south as the desert town of Dakhla. 7 shearwaters species in addition to many others.
A good selection of desert species in the southern parts of the country (with one of the best locations in the world to see Sand cats), a more european selection in the northern forests of the country and a few endemics in the Atlas mountains.
If you take in consideration how close it is to most of the European countries, how favorable the weather usually is and how good moroccan food tastes, in my opinion it's a top destination.
 
Luca Bronzi said:
The problem with Namibia for me is that big cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) and some classical savannah animals (hippos and buffaloes) are generally very difficult to see, unless you go to the Caprivi Strip where leopards are stil a rarity (although there is a minimum chance for wild dogs).
However, it's pretty cheap and hosts many species that, once ticked the classic safari animals, I'd love to see (Heaviside's Dolphins, Black Mongooses, Damara Terns...).

Also, I think penguins aren't very common in Namibia; as far as I knos there isn't any place such as Boulders Beach or Betty's Bay.
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Yes, that's all true, although a few days in Etosha should yield some big cats and penguins can be seen in Luderitz (but they are on an island so require either a boat trip or binoculars). The trick is that generally, for an American anyway, getting to Namibia requires going through South Africa, therefore if things are missed in one place they can be searched for in the other.
 
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