NORTH AMERICA
This was the hardest continent for me. I (reluctantly) eliminated more common species like the ABB, coyote, and bobcat in favor of less-common ungulates and birds.
- The elk (wapiti) is majestic and I would love to build a habitat for him.
- The mule deer has a chunkier build and bigger ears than the whitetail.
- The ocellated turkey is much more colorful than the regular wild turkey.
- The Rocky Mtn goat is an incredibly agile climber over the steepest rocks.
- The roseate spoonbill comes in gorgeous shades of pink. When we wintered in Florida, my husband took some beautiful action shots of this species.
EUROPE
I don't make many European zoos so there aren't many more animals I need here. In fact, as long as I got the wolverine, I'd be happy.
- The alpine marmot is among the chunkiest/heaviest of the ground squirrels.
- The alpine chamois is a smallish goat-antelope with rich brown fur.
- The musk ox is an ancient (pungent!) ungulate with a stronghold in Scandinavia.
- The wolverine, so powerful and confident in its ferocity, is one of my "spirit" animals.
- The western capercaillie, largest member of the grouse family, puts on a lovely courtship display.
OCEANIA
I'm pretty much all set for Oceania. The only species I really want is the
tree kangaroo (either matschie's or goodfellow's). The
greater bilby,
short-beaked echidna, and
tiger quoll would fit well into smaller spaces. I've stayed away from choosing flying birds so far, but the
laughing kookaburra is just too iconic to pass by. (Plus lorikeets and budgies in WTEs, please!)
SOUTH AMERICA
Now I must confess.... I cheated on these last three continents. I just couldn't eliminate anybody, so I have 6 picks instead of 5. Apologies!
- Any peccary would be fine, but my favorite is the collared peccary because its range extends into the U.S.
- The Patagonian mara looks like God crossed a capabara with a jackrabbit.
- As THE South American bear, the spectacled bear is a must-have.
- Southern pudu probably has no chance of making it onto the roster, but I love small, unusual-looking animals and this one is so homely it's... cute.
- Arboreal anteater? Yes! The tamandua is high on my list of desirable "weirdo" species.
- Either coati is fine, but I prefer the South American coati because of its ringed tail.
AFRICA
With all the African animals we already have, I thought I didn't need any more. But once I started making a list, it kept getting longer!
- The African civet has a unique color pattern and a dorsal crest like a hyena.
- On YouTube there is a South African webcam which streams live images of their native birds, bats, bushbabies, and spotted genets. The cape genet is sleek and agile and looks like a cross of felid and mustelid.
- The honey badger is a proud, tough, streamlined version of the wolverine. Honey badgers are master escape artists who can figure out how to use tools, which makes them so entertaining to watch.
- Coqueral’s sifaka is a gorgeous lemur that fortunately doesn't trigger my primate phobia.
- I want a small African deer and would be happy with Kirk’s dik dik, the blue duiker, or the klipspringer.
- And slotted into the (forbidden) sixth position, the secretary bird is so striking in its appearance and behavior that it had to make the list.
ASIA
It was very difficult to pick only five Asian species. I failed, of course, as you can see there are six species on my list. But I'm sad leaving off desirable species such as the Markhor, Tanuki, Reeve's muntjac, and Mandarin duck.
- The striking color pattern of the blackbuck (Indian antelop) really appeals to me.
- Equally lovely is the golden coat of the takin. The national animal of Bhutan, the takin is actually a closer relative to a sheep than to the muskox it resembles.
- The Japanese serow looks like a shaggy goat-antelope and is an agile, sure-footed climber.
- Moving from ungulates to mustelids, the yellow-throated marten is the largest marten in the Old World, with gorgeous coloration.
Finally, my fifth and sixth Asian animals are birds -- beautiful, beautiful birds -- the incomparable
golden pheasant and
Himalayan monal.
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