These People Had Heartwarming Wildlife Encounters And Had To Share Them Online (50 New Pics)
If you live in a bustling and grey metropolis, you can spend entire days without meaningfully interacting with nature. However, if you slow down to appreciate your surroundings, you’re lucky enough to live in the suburbs or the countryside, or you take a trip out of town, you realize just how much biodiversity is around you.
Our animal-loving team at Bored Panda has traveled all over the internet to bring you some of the most wholesome wildlife encounters that took people completely by surprise. Scroll down to see some heart-warming photos, upvote the ones you loved the most, and consider what you can do to help your local wildlife conservation charities.
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This Little Guy Started Hanging Around My Brother While He Was Working On A Car. I Believe It’s An American Kestrel. Which Means My Brother Made Friends With A Falcon
I Think Someone Spilled A Bag Of Ducks Near Aisle 6
Urban Fox Doing A Full Sploot In My Sunny Scottish Garden
The amount of biodiversity around us is incredible. Even if you live in a primarily urban environment, you’ll still encounter lots of different bugs and insects, different types of birds (not just pigeons!), probably rats, as well as stray dogs and cats.
If there are any parks or wooded areas in between your local skyscrapers, the odds are that you might also spot some squirrels, foxes, and raccoons. Of course, the specific animals you encounter are going to depend heavily on what part of the world you’re in!
The Neighborhood Fox And Her Kits Are Living Under My Front Deck Right Now
Bird Sitting On Its Own Info Board
Rare "Silver Fox" At My House Today
If you live further away from the city center and you’re surrounded by more and more untouched nature, the animals you encounter are also going to be more varied. You might encounter entire groups of deer, different species of birds, insects, and amphibians.
If you’re living really remotely, you may even find some larger animals paying you a visit. Imagine drinking your first cup of morning coffee only to see a bear or a wolf walking past your front porch!
Mountain Lions Moving Back Into Boulder During Lockdown
The Stray Cat I’m Feeding Has Made Friends With A Hedgehog
Albino Deer I Spotted Walking Into Work Last Week
However, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. As people expand their urban environments, they massively affect the local wildlife population. Suddenly, animals are forced to flee their homes or look in other areas for food. Some fail to adapt altogether. Others are forced to change their entire behavior not only to survive but to thrive around people. (E.g., think of how wild raccoons live vs. suburban raccoons stealing food from trash cans.)
Not A Creature Was Stirring, All Through The House - Except For This Mouse Living In Our Christmas Tree, Apparently
So This Happened To Me Today
Friend's Mom Nearly Had A Heart Attack When She Looked Out The Back Window This Morning
Earth.org, reporting on the data collected by the World Wildlife Fund, notes that the most endangered animal in the world is the Amur Leopard. Between 2014 and 2015, barely 92 individuals were left in the world.
Now, this number is even lower, standing at a mere 84. These leopards are at risk mainly due to poachers who value their coats and boats to be sold to Asian medicine practitioners. Natural fires, as well as those caused by people, also destroy their habitats. Meanwhile, the changing climate means that they have less prey to catch.
Baby Skunk, Which My Son Found In The Driveway, Fell Asleep In My Hand Yesterday As I Returned It To Its Burrow
We Fed Our Backyard Squirrel Once... Meet Frankie At Our Backyard Door Waiting For More Nuts
Mom Had A Stranger On Her Deck This Morning
Rhinos are also incredibly vulnerable. Poachers and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners value their horns very much, which means that these animals are constantly under threat of being hunted down. Unfortunately, their horns are very lucrative.
The black rhino, Javan rhino, and Sumatran rhino are three of five rhino species that are among the most endangered species on Earth. For instance, there are barely 60 Javan rhinos left. Meanwhile, the black rhino population stands at 5.5k.
I Came Into My Kitchen To Find A Lizard Using A Sponge As A Raft In The Sink. I Live In New Mexico
A Polar Fox Escaped From A Small Zoo In Germany But Got Tired On The Way. A Zookeeper Took Him Back. I Hope That Didn’t Disturb His Slumber
A Family Of Raccoons In My Yard
Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are also in trouble. There were roughly 230k+ orangutans in the wild a hundred years ago. However, due to deforestation for palm oil, they’ve been losing their habitats. As it stands now, there are 104.7k Bornean orangutans and around 13.8k Sumatran orangutans living.
This Fox That Lives At The Top Of My Granny's Hedge
Thankfully I Saved This Little Guy From My Lawnmower Today
This is what my lawn looked like, so he was pretty lucky that I saw him.
The Wife Opened The Back Door And Immediately Gasped, Then Shut It. A Little Guy Had Been Stashed There By His Mommy For About 10 Hours Before She Came Back And Got Him
There are no easy fixes. If you want to protect wildlife on a global scale, you’d have to change how people interact with nature so they can co-exist with animals.
That would probably include fundamentally changing the perspective on trade and economics: instead of limitless growth and profits, everyone would ideally aim for sustainable growth.
A Hummingbird Chilled On My Phone Today
A Hummingbird Built Its Nest On My Hanging Hummingbird Figurine
Surprise Snoozing Seal Pup
Meanwhile, we would all ideally change how we look at a life worth living, pursuing deep relationships instead of materialistic wants. That means consuming less, buying fewer products, changing our eating habits, and recycling more.
As a result, we’d need to destroy fewer natural habitats for farms, factories, mines, and homes. The more people vote with their wallets, the more big corporations will have to adapt and embrace a greener mindset.
Christmas Eve Visitor
Echidna We Rescued At Work. This Little Guy Got Stuck In The Bottom Of A Shallow Mineshaft. We Could Only See His Little Spikes Sticking Out Of The Dirt
It took us about 30 minutes to get him out because he could burrow faster than we could dig. However, we managed to relocate him to a safer spot.
A Pine Marten I Saw While Walking Through The Woods
At the end of the day, we’ll still see quick economic expansion so long as it’s profitable. If you’re angry about pollution, destroyed habitats, and climate change, then you can and should look at the problem as a political one.
Vote for political representatives who represent your values. Boycott companies and brands that go against what you believe in. Write to your current political representatives asking them to take a tougher stance regarding conservation.
My Friend's Dad Found A Crab Holding A Donatello PEZ Dispenser
Found A Baby Hawk At Work Today
Two Baby Bears On My Grandparents' Deck
Meanwhile, you can support wildlife organizations financially or by volunteering your time. However, on a more personal scale, you could help your local wildlife by wilding your garden if you have one or by being courteous and non-intrusive when you spend time in nature.
What’s the best or most unexpected wildlife encounter you’ve ever had, dear Pandas? How often do you see animals in your day-to-day lives? What do you do to support conservation efforts? Tell us all about it in the comments!
A Sleepy Barn Owl Found Camouflage On My Back Porch
Found A Stray Cat In My Garage This Morning
The Housekeeping Staff Found An Owl In The Room Of A Guest Who Checked Out Yesterday
This Lizard Lives In My Birdhouse
Saw A Blonde Squirrel At The Park Yesterday
I Was Sitting At A Red Light When A Peregrine Falcon Landed On The Hood Of My Car
A Bird Made A Nest And Had Babies In Our Holiday Wreath
Capybaras Invaded My Garden
I Found A Baby Rabbit While Mowing The Lawn
Found This Little Guy Running Across The Train Tracks. I Was Able To Get Him Into The Box So He Didn't Overheat In The Sun And Get Hit By A Train
Found This Angry Unit In The Wild At Work Today. Wanted To Have A Piece Of Me Every Time I Walked Past The Tree
This Random Koala Is On The Side Of My House
When You Spend Your Whole Life Rolling Your Eyes At Ignorant Foreigners Thinking You Have Kangaroos In Your Front Yard, And You Live In The Suburbs
I Was Dashing & Driving With My Windows Down When I Felt Something Hit My Head. I Pulled Over To See What Happened & Noticed A Bird Flew Into The Car As I Was Driving
Our Friendly Magpie Visits Us Every Morning! This Morning, She Showed Up With A Mouthful Of Bugs. She Walks Right Up, Sits With Me, And Steals Little Bits Of Our Dog's Food
Found A Friend. Millard Canyon Falls Trail, Angeles National Forest, California
Woke Up To A Swan Peering Through My Front Door
Is This Armadillo Old Enough To Be On Its Own?
I know they're not ideal to touch, but this little guy was death-rolling through my yard, and I didn't want my pitbull to get him.