From the north
Wildlife Guides
Predators, large mammals, and venomous species — grouped by the Alone regions where they matter for planning. Behavior, sign, habitat, and the field notes that keep you honest about the country you're moving through.
Featured wildlife
Species spotlight
A rotating selection from Alone filming regions and other wild destinations — behavior, sign, and camp-planning notes.
Alone regionTimber wolf
Canis lupus
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
Alone regionGrizzly bear
Ursus arctos horribilis
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
Alone regionWolverine
Gulo gulo
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
152 guides across 25 regions
Vancouver Island (S1–S2)
Canada · North America
Coastal rainforest — cougar country, high black bear density, sea wolves.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
PredatorLynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
PredatorUrsus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
PredatorPuma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
Large mammalCervus canadensis roosevelti
Roosevelt elk
The largest elk subspecies in North America — a rainforest specialist bigger than a Rocky Mountain bull and unique to Vancouver Island's old-growth.
Patagonia (S3)
Argentina & Chile · South America
Andean foothills — puma is the apex; no venomous snakes of concern.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
Large mammalLama guanicoe
Guanaco
The wild ancestor of the llama and Patagonia's dominant large herbivore — the puma's main prey and the animal you'll see most in open country.
Large mammalHippocamelus bisulcus
Huemul
The endangered mountain deer on Chile's national coat of arms — a stocky, cliff-adapted browser that most travelers pass without seeing.
ScavengerVultur gryphus
Andean condor
The largest flying bird on Earth by combined weight and wingspan — a soaring scavenger you'll spot before you know it's there.
PredatorLycalopex culpaeus
Culpeo
Patagonia's largest fox — a mid-sized predator that fills a coyote-shaped niche where no wolves or coyotes ever evolved.
Mongolia (S5)
Mongolia · Asia
Steppe and taiga edge — snow leopard, Siberian wolf, brown bear.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
PredatorPanthera uncia
Snow leopard
The ghost of the Mongolian Altai — an ambush cat you will almost certainly never see, but whose sign shapes the ridgelines you cross.
Large mammalOvis ammon
Argali
The largest wild sheep on Earth — a Mongolian mountain giant whose curled horns can weigh as much as a whole mule deer.
Large mammalCapra sibirica
Siberian ibex
The cliff-dwelling wild goat of the Altai — snow leopard's other main prey and the only ungulate that goes higher than argali.
PredatorOtocolobus manul
Pallas's cat
The grumpiest small cat in Asia — an ambush hunter the size of a house cat with the fur of a small bear.
Marmota sibirica
Tarbagan marmot
The staple small game of the Mongolian steppe — the marmot whose burrows shelter Pallas's cats and whose whistle warns everything else there is a raptor overhead.
Great Slave Lake / Frozen (S6–S7, Frozen)
Canada · North America
Sub-arctic — wolves, wolverine, muskox, occasional polar bear on the coast.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Ursus arctos horribilis
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
Large mammalRangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
PredatorUrsus maritimus
Polar bear
The only bear on Earth that treats humans as legitimate prey — the reason Labrador and Frozen crews carry a rifle to the shoreline.
Large mammalOvibos moschatus
Muskox
A shaggy 800-pound relic of the Pleistocene — usually indifferent, but a defensive bull can flatten a tent and everything in it.
Large mammalAlces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
PredatorVulpes lagopus
Arctic fox
A small tundra predator with the warmest fur of any mammal — often the last carnivore working a carcass after the polar bear has left.
Chilko Lake, BC (S8)
Canada · North America
Interior BC mountains — grizzly, cougar, wolves at elevation.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Ursus arctos horribilis
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
Large mammalOreamnos americanus
Mountain goat
A cliff-adapted alpine specialist — not a true goat, and one of the few large mammals more sure-footed than a cougar on wet rock.
Labrador (S9)
Canada · North America
Sub-arctic coast — black bear, wolves, polar bear along the shore.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Predator
Ursus maritimus
Polar bear
The only bear on Earth that treats humans as legitimate prey — the reason Labrador and Frozen crews carry a rifle to the shoreline.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
- Predator
Vulpes lagopus
Arctic fox
A small tundra predator with the warmest fur of any mammal — often the last carnivore working a carcass after the polar bear has left.
Reindeer Lake, Sask. (S10)
Canada · North America
Boreal shield — black bear, wolves, wolverine, moose.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
Tasmania (Alone Australia)
Australia · Oceania
Cool temperate — tiger snake and Tasmanian devil are the planning problems.
VenomousNotechis scutatus
Tiger snake
Tasmania's most medically significant snake — highly neurotoxic venom, willing to stand its ground on cool days near water.
ScavengerSarcophilus harrisii
Tasmanian devil
A stocky nocturnal scavenger with the strongest bite-per-body-mass of any living mammal — a nuisance to food caches, not a threat to people.
Large mammalNotamacropus rufogriseus
Bennett's wallaby
Tasmania's mid-sized macropod — the abundant grazing marsupial that lives at almost every campsite and every road edge on the island.
Vombatus ursinus
Common wombat
A 60-pound burrowing marsupial with a bone plate in its rump and cube-shaped scat — the tank of the Tasmanian forest.
Appalachian & Eastern US
United States · North America
Hardwood forest and southern highlands — black bear, white-tailed deer, timber rattler.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
US Rockies & Northern Range
United States · North America
Alpine and montane forest — grizzly, wolf, elk, cougar, mountain goat.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Ursus arctos horribilis
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
- Large mammal
Cervus canadensis roosevelti
Roosevelt elk
The largest elk subspecies in North America — a rainforest specialist bigger than a Rocky Mountain bull and unique to Vancouver Island's old-growth.
- Large mammal
Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goat
A cliff-adapted alpine specialist — not a true goat, and one of the few large mammals more sure-footed than a cougar on wet rock.
US Southwest & Desert
United States · North America
Slickrock, desert scrub, and sky islands — cougar, javelina, rattlesnake.
US Southeast & Gulf Wetlands
United States · North America
Cypress swamp, marsh, and coastal plain — alligator, black bear, cottonmouth.
California & Sierra Nevada
United States · North America
High granite country and coast range — black bear, mountain lion, mule deer.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Cervus canadensis roosevelti
Roosevelt elk
The largest elk subspecies in North America — a rainforest specialist bigger than a Rocky Mountain bull and unique to Vancouver Island's old-growth.
Pacific Northwest
United States · North America
Cascades, Olympics, and coast temperate rainforest — Roosevelt elk, cougar, black bear.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Cervus canadensis roosevelti
Roosevelt elk
The largest elk subspecies in North America — a rainforest specialist bigger than a Rocky Mountain bull and unique to Vancouver Island's old-growth.
- Large mammal
Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goat
A cliff-adapted alpine specialist — not a true goat, and one of the few large mammals more sure-footed than a cougar on wet rock.
Alaska & the Arctic
United States · North America
Brooks Range and coastal tundra — grizzly, polar bear, moose, caribou, wolverine.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Ursus arctos horribilis
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Predator
Ursus maritimus
Polar bear
The only bear on Earth that treats humans as legitimate prey — the reason Labrador and Frozen crews carry a rifle to the shoreline.
- Large mammal
Ovibos moschatus
Muskox
A shaggy 800-pound relic of the Pleistocene — usually indifferent, but a defensive bull can flatten a tent and everything in it.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
- Large mammal
Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goat
A cliff-adapted alpine specialist — not a true goat, and one of the few large mammals more sure-footed than a cougar on wet rock.
- Predator
Vulpes lagopus
Arctic fox
A small tundra predator with the warmest fur of any mammal — often the last carnivore working a carcass after the polar bear has left.
Canadian Boreal & Shield
Canada · North America
Lake-and-spruce country across the Canadian Shield — moose, wolf, black bear, lynx.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Ursus arctos horribilis
Grizzly bear
The North American brown bear — bigger, more open-country, and a whole different response protocol than a black bear.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
Falcipennis canadensis
Spruce grouse
The fool hen — a chicken-of-the-woods so tame it walks past you, and one of the most reliable survival proteins in the boreal.
Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hare
The keystone rodent-shaped animal of the boreal — feeds lynx, fisher, marten, owl, fox, and coyote, and turns pure white when the snow arrives.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
- Large mammal
Oreamnos americanus
Mountain goat
A cliff-adapted alpine specialist — not a true goat, and one of the few large mammals more sure-footed than a cougar on wet rock.
European Alps & Central Mountains
Europe · Europe
High Alps, Dolomites, Tatras — chamois, ibex, marmot, golden eagle.
Scandinavia & Fennoscandia
Norway, Sweden & Finland · Europe
Nordic taiga and fell country — moose, brown bear, wolverine, reindeer.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Lynx canadensis
Canada lynx
A silent specialist tied to one prey species and one landscape — dense spruce, deep snow, and snowshoe hare.
- Predator
Gulo gulo
Wolverine
The largest land weasel — small on the scale, huge on attitude, unmatched at moving through wild snow country.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
Castor canadensis
North American beaver
The ecosystem engineer — floods valleys, builds fish habitat, feeds moose, and quietly makes the country wetter, cooler, and more resilient.
- Large mammal
Alces alces
Moose
The largest deer on Earth — a 1,000-pound answer to every question about protein, danger, and river crossings in the boreal.
- Predator
Vulpes lagopus
Arctic fox
A small tundra predator with the warmest fur of any mammal — often the last carnivore working a carcass after the polar bear has left.
Mediterranean Europe
Southern Europe · Europe
Pyrenees, Apennines, and Iberian sierra — wild boar, ibex, wolf, golden eagle.
Himalaya & Karakoram
Nepal, India & Pakistan · Asia
High Asia — snow leopard, blue sheep, Himalayan brown bear, tahr.
- Predator
Panthera uncia
Snow leopard
The ghost of the Mongolian Altai — an ambush cat you will almost certainly never see, but whose sign shapes the ridgelines you cross.
- Large mammal
Ovis ammon
Argali
The largest wild sheep on Earth — a Mongolian mountain giant whose curled horns can weigh as much as a whole mule deer.
- Large mammal
Capra sibirica
Siberian ibex
The cliff-dwelling wild goat of the Altai — snow leopard's other main prey and the only ungulate that goes higher than argali.
- Predator
Otocolobus manul
Pallas's cat
The grumpiest small cat in Asia — an ambush hunter the size of a house cat with the fur of a small bear.
Central Asian Steppe & Altai
Mongolia & Central Asia · Asia
Steppe, taiga edge, and Altai peaks — argali, ibex, snow leopard, Pallas's cat.
- Predator
Canis lupus
Timber wolf
The apex canid of the boreal — travels far, kills big, teaches everything else in the forest to move quietly.
- Predator
Panthera uncia
Snow leopard
The ghost of the Mongolian Altai — an ambush cat you will almost certainly never see, but whose sign shapes the ridgelines you cross.
- Large mammal
Ovis ammon
Argali
The largest wild sheep on Earth — a Mongolian mountain giant whose curled horns can weigh as much as a whole mule deer.
- Large mammal
Capra sibirica
Siberian ibex
The cliff-dwelling wild goat of the Altai — snow leopard's other main prey and the only ungulate that goes higher than argali.
- Predator
Otocolobus manul
Pallas's cat
The grumpiest small cat in Asia — an ambush hunter the size of a house cat with the fur of a small bear.
Marmota sibirica
Tarbagan marmot
The staple small game of the Mongolian steppe — the marmot whose burrows shelter Pallas's cats and whose whistle warns everything else there is a raptor overhead.
Andes & Tropical Cordillera
Peru, Bolivia & Ecuador · South America
Peruvian and Bolivian high country — puma, spectacled bear, Andean condor, vicuña.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
- Large mammal
Lama guanicoe
Guanaco
The wild ancestor of the llama and Patagonia's dominant large herbivore — the puma's main prey and the animal you'll see most in open country.
- Large mammal
Hippocamelus bisulcus
Huemul
The endangered mountain deer on Chile's national coat of arms — a stocky, cliff-adapted browser that most travelers pass without seeing.
- Scavenger
Vultur gryphus
Andean condor
The largest flying bird on Earth by combined weight and wingspan — a soaring scavenger you'll spot before you know it's there.
- Predator
Lycalopex culpaeus
Culpeo
Patagonia's largest fox — a mid-sized predator that fills a coyote-shaped niche where no wolves or coyotes ever evolved.
Mexico & Central America
Mexico & Central America · North America
Sierra Madre, tropical dry forest, and cloud forest — jaguar, coati, howler monkey.
- Predator
Ursus americanus
Black bear
The most widespread bear in North America — a shy, food-driven opportunist you will absolutely share the woods with.
- Predator
Puma concolor
Cougar
The silent apex of Vancouver Island, Chilko, and Patagonia — an ambush cat that watches you long before you know it exists.
Mainland Australia
Australia · Oceania
Outback, alpine, and rainforest — red kangaroo, dingo, saltwater crocodile, brown snake.
- Venomous
Notechis scutatus
Tiger snake
Tasmania's most medically significant snake — highly neurotoxic venom, willing to stand its ground on cool days near water.
- Scavenger
Sarcophilus harrisii
Tasmanian devil
A stocky nocturnal scavenger with the strongest bite-per-body-mass of any living mammal — a nuisance to food caches, not a threat to people.
- Large mammal
Notamacropus rufogriseus
Bennett's wallaby
Tasmania's mid-sized macropod — the abundant grazing marsupial that lives at almost every campsite and every road edge on the island.
Vombatus ursinus
Common wombat
A 60-pound burrowing marsupial with a bone plate in its rump and cube-shaped scat — the tank of the Tasmanian forest.
Arctic Circumpolar
Arctic · North America
High Arctic tundra and pack ice — polar bear, muskox, arctic fox, snowy owl.
- Large mammal
Rangifer tarandus caribou
Woodland caribou
The boreal cousin of tundra caribou — a lichen-eating, old-growth specialist and one of the most imperiled large mammals on the continent.
- Predator
Ursus maritimus
Polar bear
The only bear on Earth that treats humans as legitimate prey — the reason Labrador and Frozen crews carry a rifle to the shoreline.
- Large mammal
Ovibos moschatus
Muskox
A shaggy 800-pound relic of the Pleistocene — usually indifferent, but a defensive bull can flatten a tent and everything in it.
- Predator
Vulpes lagopus
Arctic fox
A small tundra predator with the warmest fur of any mammal — often the last carnivore working a carcass after the polar bear has left.