Most Interesting Creatures while on vacation..
 

I am curious what type of creatures people have come across during vacation.What was your favorite creature (or animal) and why?


For me it is Geckos...they are neat to watch at night by lights..watching them eat bugs.One time I saw 10 or so of them by one light.

Also..Iguanas are neat lizards.

I also love iguanas...the turquoise ones in Aruba are really neat. And we saw a cool frog in the Caymans.

And then of course there are all the underwater creatures we see when snorkeling or diving...turtles and barracuda etc...

Probably manatees we snorkeled with in a river in Jamaica....closely followed by dolphins that came to play with us and around our boat, also in JA...

Three-toed Sloth in Cartagena, Columbia.
Iguanas in Cuba.
Sea Turtles laying eggs, Coast of Venezuela.
Manatee in Everglades National Park.
Bears, Algonquin Park, Canada
Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Moose, Banff National Park, Canada

well .... 2 and 3 toed sloths in Costa Rica , and being chased by a white faced monkey was pretty cool as well !!!!! The Howler Monkey was the MOST amazing , incredible !!! But .... we also saw squirrel monkeys , coatis , racoons , deer , agouti , tons of bats , tons of lizards , and iguanas , caymans , enormous crocs , and then the birds ........ All in Costa Rica ! Faith

The sleazy bartender on my carribean cruise! He was a creature... not too interesting though! Ha.. Ha!! Just kidding.

faithie-I have heard that the Squirrel monkeys are cute.Sounds like Costa Rica is a good place to go for the animals alone!

jeenymary-LOL!!That was cute.

Favorite creatures encountered in order of
preference:

1. Cane frogs on Dunk Islands in Australia.
2. Hermit crabs on Moorea in Tahiti (I will
always have fond memories of a French
toddler finding same and stating with
excitement "Oh la la , mamon!").
3. Very large tarantulas during a nocturnal
walk at Miraval Resort outside of Tucson.

Boonie-that would have freaked me out.Spiders(especially tarantulas)I am terrified of.I can handle most any animal even snakes but not spiders!

Saw a mongoose cross the road once in Jamaica; found out later that it was a sign of good luck; when it starts across & goes back, bad luck. Then there was the loan shark I saw in Montego Bay.......................

Jennymary - lol.

Brazil has some great creatures. Probably the one that was the most "interesting" was seeing a fere de lance (sp?) snake in a tree right above our heads. The pet anaconda peeing on the arm of one of our fellow passengers was also a bit on the unusual side of things!

Mama grizzly and 3 small black baby bears crossing in front of us in Alaska.
HUGE spotted ray of some sort at the Pennekamp reef near Key West.
Although, our favorite critters to spot are in our home So. Cal hills, coyotes and bobcats, so pretty. And rattlesnakes.

Hundreds of land crabs in the road on Cat Island and A "family" of tiny snails out for a stroll on our patio in Nassau. (About 10 or so little ones complete with shell housings following mom up the pathway) This looked like a picture in a storybook.

Wild Donkey on South Caicos Island.

Most amazing I would have to say would be 40,000 pink flamingos on Windsor Lake, Great Inagua. Breathtaking!

Sea dragons at the Seattle Aquarium! I think they were on loan from another aquarium. They are similar to a seahorse, but much larger with appendages that appears to be green leaves...I could have watched them for hours...

tamara-the snail family sounds like a neat experience.

Pam-sea dragons sound cool...never heard of them.

A Frog fish in Bonaire. Leafy sea dragons are my favorites also - go to south western Australia for those ! - and Pearl Spotted Owls in Zimbabwe.

VERY interesting and enjoyable post! Besides the wild turkeys and deer that frequent our backyard the most amazing encounter we had with creatures was one day snorkeling a reef off the beach on New Providence. As I came up for air I saw dorsel fins -- I am out about 100-150 yards off shore with my wife, 7 year old daughter and my sister and was worried that we were about to be attacked by sharks -- fortuately we were being "visited" by 4-6 dolphins AMAZING and LUCKY!

yeah!very lucky..I wish that would have happened to me.I love dolphins! :)

TG..where do you live? We have lots of deer in NC too...so many that I hit one on Monday did $1400 in damage to my minivan. :(

Christie - Connecticut

TG-I have heard that the deer are much bigger up there.:)

We were so excited when Jojo the dolphin (in T&C) came swimming along side the boat we were on, returning from a snorkel trip. I never thought I'd actually see him for myself. The only way it would have been better is if I'd been in the water. However, I probably would have been scared to be that close.

We also see nurse sharks and sea turtles when we snorkel in T&C.

I feel like I have seen nothing compared to the people that have replied to this post.It is very interesting and makes me want to travel even more.((r)) ((R))

Last trip to the BVIs (a week ago), my husband got showered on by a frog/toad who had squished itself into the door jamb. There were others clinging to the wall beside the door as well. I say frog/toad because one of the hotel staff said it was a Cuban Toad (related to cane toads) who squirt a psychedelic liquid from body glands (damn - forgot to lick the durn thing!). However, we haven't been able to find this critter on ENature. Found a Cuban tree frog - but no mention of squirting on people! Anyone out there with a similar experience?

Sounds a bit funny..your husband did not by chance..squish the frog in the door? :?

I love the Bahama Parrot, on Abaco, Bahamas. When Columbus discovered "America"; i.e., San Salvador, Bahamas, his log book described "beautifully-colored parrots which filled the sky, creating a shadow". These were the Bahamian Parrot, now found in isolated colonies on Abaco and Great Iguana. The Abaco colony learned how to nest underground, in the hollow limestone cavities, and the last remnant colony is in souther Abaco, south of Cooperstown, north of Hole-in-the-Wall, just off the Great Abaco Highway. They learned to nest underground, because the thin pine trees didn't offer cavities to nest in. However, along came man, introducing cats, which turn feral, and rats. The cats are going to wipe out the last colony of Bahama Parrots, since they nest, vulnerable, on the ground in limestone cavities. The feral cats, plus the influx in hurricanes which drown the babies, is taking its toll. I will be down in the forests of southern Abaco to help the researchers there with a survey in late June. Go to the website "Parrots International" if you'd like to donate to the cause of saving the Bahama Parrot. Robert

Make that "Great Inagua", not Great Iguana, as the other Bahama Parrot colony. Abaco and Great Inagua are the only two places left for this unique parrot which nests underground. Robert

christiegr - I promise you that HD did not damage or squish the amphibian in any way. This fellow (or gal) had sqeezed itself onto the top of the door and when my hubby opened the door, it hung on the top and let loose all over him, then hopped to the wall, where I had a good long look at it (while hubby was sponging off the liquid). My first fear was the "squish" factor, as well. No damage at all and the hotel staff said that this was not uncommon. Apparently they are drawn in on damp nights by the door lights.

what a nasty little frog :)

The little sand crabs on the beach, who are always digging their holes or gettng kicked out (literally!) by the other 'residents', and the tiny whistling treefrogs on Nevis.