Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
50 Wild Animal Encounters That Took People By Surprise
Humans have a great curiosity about animals. We keep pets, watch nature documentaries and you can find a zoo in most populated areas. Sometimes, it seems, wildlife has the same curiosity. Or at the very least they just want our food.
So as you are going about your day, keep an eye out. There might be some local fauna just hanging about! But it’s important to remember safety precautions when coming face to face with wild animals. We’ve put together some tips to keep you safe.
Bored Panda has gathered some human - animal encounters that probably left both parties confused. Upvote your favorites, comment your wildlife experiences and enjoy this list.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Baby Foxes Showed Up To Say Hi At My Grandmother's House
If 3 years ago
Many years ago, after a big snowfall (I was not living in a place where this is an usual sighting) I came outside in the early morning and saw a beautiful red fox standing still among my lavender plants. We stared at each other. After few seconds of enchantment the fox ran to the borders of my property, staring at me one last time (I was still blocked). I'll never forget that stare. She's still in my heart.
RELATED:
#2
Living Alone In Nashville, I Used To Wake Up Every Morning To This Gal (She's Wild) Squawking For Food At My Back Slider
One morning I serenaded her with my guitar. The next week she made a nest and laid eggs on my patio... I named her Greta.
#3
Security Light Went Off At 1 Am. This Little Guy Found My Dog's Ball
He/She was actually 1 of 3, that were playing with each other in the backyard. I stayed up watching for almost an hour.
#4
Saw This Beauty Yesterday
Shark Lady 3 years ago
Never post the location online when you see a white deer. Unfortunately they are a magnet for trophy hunters who would rather look at the head of one stuck on a wall.
#5
A Rescued Baby Beaver
#6
The Possum That Visits Our Deck Every Evening Brought Along Somebody Special Last Night! Meet Deckster And Backster
#7
Just A Friendly Local I Met On A Hike Yesterday (Portugal)
#8
Found This Guy Under My Car This Morning. Spent About 10 Minutes Hand-Feeding Him Carrots And Broccoli
#9
Fox Sleeping On Skylight
#10
This Wild Goose Flew In And Became Friends With My Grandma's Farm Goose. He Hasn't Left In Over A Year
#11
Owl Landed On My Friend's Head At A Luke Bryan Concert
#12
Owls Born Outside Of Office Windows Won't Stop Staring At Workers Inside
#13
I Went To The Amazon And Found My Long-Lost Brother
#14
Ran Into This Little Guy While Hiking In The Swiss Alps
#15
Found This Little Guy At Work Today
Wasn’t safe where I found him, so I let him go outside of the job.
Rebecca Trinkner 3 years ago
OMG, that cutie would totally go home with me. Or, someone would have to talk some sense into me.
#16
Found This And Thought You All Might Like It. Trash Panda
#17
Went For A Walk Today And My Dog Found A Baby Bird
#18
My Dad Lives Alone In The Australian Bush And Cares For A Family Of Wild Kangaroos, Today He Sent Me This Photo
Full of Giggles 3 years ago
He’s lucky. I have three rescue kangaroos and they’re all a******s.
#19
Koala Had Wandered Into A House And Decided It Wanted To Be The Fairy On The Christmas Tree
This evening our hotline operator took a call. At first, she thought she was the victim of a prank call.
But no, a koala desperate to get in the Christmas spirit had wandered into Amanda McCormick's house and decided it wanted to be the fairy on the Christmas tree. Amanda was not so sure and rang 1300KOALAZ for help.
Thanks, Amanda for the great pictures and for making sure this little koala got its wish, even if it was just for a short while.
#20
Met This Pretty Lady On My Walk Today
#22
This Chipmunk Looking Up At My Girlfriend On Top Of Eagle Cap Summit, 9570 Ft
#23
Found An Owl Lying In My Backyard This Morning (Don’t Worry I Took Him To A Wildlife Rescue Center)
I took her to the Austin Wildlife Rescue center and the vet working there told me she probably hit her head really hard and has a concussion. She will make a full recovery and will be released as soon as she regains full consciousness.
#24
Momma Deer That Lives On Our Property Came And Showed Us Her Baby
#25
Wild Boar Chilling With Humans
Aran Lindvail2 3 years ago
That's either very brave or very stupid of them. Wild boars are incredibly dangerous.
#26
Found This Absolute Unit, Named Him Jimmy Thunderthighs
#27
Let's Pet The Cute Wild Bobcat Kittens, When You See It
#28
This Fella Walked 3 Km From The Beach To A Wheat Farm And Got Lost
#29
Found In Backyard: A Rare And Endangered Peregrine Falcon—the Fastest Bird On The Continent (The Wildlife Commission Reunited Him With His Family)
#30
Deer Family Came To Visit
#31
Got A Gift From My Crow Friends
tHeBoRdEsTpAnDa 3 years ago
Clean it and wear it as jewelry. Then you'll have a cool story of how you got your favourite bractelet
#32
I Held A Wild Cardinal Today, And Managed To Even Take Pictures With It
#33
Norwegian Elk Having Fun
#34
Found This Fox Chilling In The Backyard
#35
Found Him Wandering Next To My House
#36
This Curious Stoat Kept Popping Up Next To Me As I Was Relaxing At The Top Of My Hike Today
#37
Moose Visiting My Dad's Garden
#38
My Cat And A Passing-Through Deer Locked Eyes For About 5 Minutes. I Think It Was The Highlight Of My Cat's Entire Life
Firstname Lastname 3 years ago
Oh deer. Think of the cat-astrophe that could have happened if the door was open.
#39
This Newborn Fawn Left By Its Mother Next To My Wife's Freshly Bloomed Peonies
#40
This Wild Magpie And I Have Become Good Friends
#41
We Have A Fox That Comes To Eat And He Gets On With Our Cat
#42
This Sad Raccoon At My Back Door At 2:00 Am, He Was Looking For My Cat Who Wasn't Home
#43
A Nice Wren Couple Moved Into A Hiking Boot In My Parents' Garage, And Today Their Family Grew By 5
Labellesouris 3 years ago
Hiking boots are made for all kinds of journeys...this begins a new one
#44
Found On A Walk Snapped A Pic And Moved On
#45
My Daughter Met A Fox Today
Consequential_mishaps 3 years ago
Really hope you don't have a cat flap or dog door or something of the sort. Looks cute but that fox is thinking hmmm that's exactly the size of a snack I can handle. Happened so many times here in the uk and not just rural areas but in london. Fox came through cat flaps and dog doors and attacked babies.
#46
Hummingbird Family Made A Nest In A Pair Of Hanging Pool Goggles
#47
A Cheeky Little Visitor Is Affectionately Known As "Bill The Possum" Popped In To Say Hello To Our Mechatronics Students In The ES Building
#48
Look At This Cute Puppy We Found In The Corn Field
Ann Pattinson 3 years ago
For a moment, It's still early here, I was thinking how does that animal look like Russel Crowe? I need more coffee.
#49
Found This Little Guy Hiding In My Daughter's Shirt
#50
Wild Boar Taking A Nap After A Meal
#51
I Managed To Befriend A Wild Crow, Here's Maddie
#52
Found A Baby Possum. Took It To A Wildlife Rehabilitator. She Sent Me This Picture After She Cleaned Him Up
#53
So The Other Day My Dad Called Me And Told Me His Golden Retriever Found A Baby Squirrel That Was Half Alive In The Yard. He Rescued It And Fed It
This is them a few days later. Now It won’t leave his side.
#54
A Fawn I Saw "Hiding" In Plain Sight. He Thinks He's Totally Invisible
#55
Woke Up This Morning And Found An Owl On Our Washing Machine (India)
#56
Woke Up This Morning And Went To The Kitchen To Find A Baby Owl
#57
Found Baby Bunnies In Our Planter
We found these little ones yesterday. Haven't touched them, but put a little bowl of water and some spinach on the other side of the planter. This is by our front door so we have a camera looking at the planter. Caught a video of the mom giving birth and even a coyote walking right past them.
#58
Three Babies Exploring In My Backyard
Natalia Girotti 3 years ago
I may be wrong, but I think they are the most adorable babies ever. Considering every species... c´mon!!
#59
My Friend Took A Bunch Of Pics Of This Pair Of Fawns And Never Saw Their Mom Until He Looked Through Pictures Later
#60
A Mama Deer In Our Neighborhood Regularly Leaves Her Fawns On Our Front Porch For Babysitting While She’s Busy
#61
Gifted A Bonsai Tree, Found An Egg Near The Trunk - This Little One Hatched From It Today
#62
My Dad Found This Box Turtle Nine Years Ago And Let It Loose In His Yard. He Pops Up Again Every Year In The Spring
Fresh from hibernation, here's Gustav the resident backyard box turtle.
Persephone 3 years ago
Important fact: you should never move box turtles from their home area (unless they're crossing a road, move them to the side they were heading)... they have a very poor ability to find food in New locations. I'm sure this guy has plenty to eat in this backyard tho courtesy of this family.
#63
I Spent An Inordinate Amount Taking My 9-Year-Old To See The Submarine Museum Today, And The Only Thing He Cares About Is Seeing This Fox Jumping In And Out Of The Bin
#64
Friendly Fox Has A Present For You
#65
An Owl Fell Down The Chimney
#66
Found This Guy In The Galápagos
She was closeby - this little pup was just curious about the hoomans.
#67
Came Home From A Walk And Saw This Guy At Our Stairs. After Confirming It’s A Baby Bobcat The Police Called A Local Wildlife Center To Come Get Him
This was on Saturday.
Dustin, my husband, went on a walk and when he was coming home, he found a kitten. He called me and said that it said it had a possible medical problem. I immediately told him to pick it up and bring it in (I was going to evaluate for obvious medical concerns and bring it to the vet). He said that it was hissing and making it known he/she did not want to be handled.
So, I go down and bring some food with me and a towel. After getting there and trying to feed it, with it making it known I was not welcomed either, I notice some stuff that made me realize that I wasn’t dealing with no ordinary kitten... It is a Bobcat kitten!!!! It was just in the corner of the stairs.
Skylar (they/them) 3 years ago
Imagine if OPs husband had brought the kitten inside and they just casually brought it to a normal vet for pets
#68
My Neighbors Found This Young Kestrel And Called Him Geralt. Birds Of Prey Can Be Adorable Too
#69
A Kookaburra Flew Down And Sat On My Son’s Knee While He Was Eating Lunch Outside. Clearly Used To Being Fed By Humans
#70
Friend Found A Baby Raccoon In Their Garage, They're In Contact With The Local Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Just A Cutie
#71
So My Wife And I Just Bought Our First House, And The Night After We Moved In, Found Ourselves With A Welcoming Committee In Our Backyard
#72
A Squirrel Ran Into The Store I Work At, And Stole A Chocolate Bar
#73
Saw This Little Cutie On Our Sunday Hike
#74
I Don't Even Own A Fox
#75
Found This Little Girl When I Was Cutting The Grass Today
#76
There's A Wild Piggie And Chiwawa Crew Terrorizing My Mom's Neighborhood
#77
So I've Been Feeding The Squirrels Lately And This Is What I Saw At My Door When I Woke Up
#78
Was Kayaking With My Family In Florida And We Saw A Manatee
#79
My Coworker Rescued This Wild Parrot From A Cat A Few Days Ago. Their Newfound Friendship Made My Week
#80
This Little Guy Was Sitting Patiently On My Shoe When I Took A Break From Hiking In Colorado
#81
On A Road Trip And Saw This Lovely Old Lady Giving Water To A Family Of Ducks Who Are Miles From A Pond On A 101⁰ Day
#82
Hiking Along The Trinity River In DFW, Met This Little Guy
#83
Roxy, Our Gray Fox Finally Posed For A Picture. And Yes, She's Wild
The Other Other White Meat 3 years ago
Foxy Roxy looks like she's definitely lived a life worth talking about!
#84
Wild Spotted Hyena Cub Sniffing My Car In Kruger National Park
#85
This Very Very Smol Frog I Found In The Woods. He Was Very Polite
#86
Was Lucky Enough To See This Little Guy This Morning. It's Quite Rare To See Them In The Wild
#87
The Deer On My Mom's Property Had An Albino Baby
Lakota Wolf 3 years ago
Leucistic, not albino. The baby has some pigment in its fur, and the eyes are pigmented. Thus, not an albino :)
#88
Shoutout To The Raccoon I Found During Inventory At 3 Am In 2021, I Still Think About You
#89
Found Some Baby Bunnies Next To My Office Today
#90
Had To Break Up A Wild Party On My Back Porch Last Night
#92
Met This Little Guy While Out On A Hike Today. He Was Very Interested In The Can Of Sprite I Had In My Hand
#93
So There’s A Fox In My Upstairs Bedroom. Not Entirely Sure How It Got In
#94
There Is A Family Of Foxes Living Under My House
There are 5 babies and 1 mom, but I didn't have my phone with me when I first saw them and the others left by the time I grabbed it.
#95
Fox On A Hay Bale
#96
Saw This Baby On My Evening Walk
#97
Just Living His Best Life Eating Croissant In Morrisons
#98
Wild Ducklings Are Not So Wild When Food Is Involved
#99
There’s A Coyote Outside My Friend’s House
#100
The Day I Opened My Bedroom Window And Almost Passed Out Of A Cardiac Arrest
#101
Found This Little Bugger Trying To Cross 5 Lanes Of Traffic All By Himself
#102
Last Summer I Heard Something Rustle Underneath Me As I Studied On Our Outdoor Bench. It Was A Baby Deer
#103
Cat Tales. Wild Baby Bobcat Visiting My Backyard Near Tucson
Amanda Rose 3 years ago
We've been hearing them a lot the last couple of nights (I'm in the same area). My dog is annoyed that we are keeping such a close eye on him while he is outside (he likes to roam around the yard at his own pace).
#104
Encountered An Echidna
#105
This Grumpy Hero Alerted Me About Its Family's Camouflaged Underground Den With 5 Siblings While Mowing Today
Chel Bolin 3 years ago
My boyfriend discovered a group tucked into a small divet while mowing. Unfortunately he injured one, came running to me for help. But by the time we got back outside the mother had moved them all. He is still upset by that.
#106
Three Foxes Curled Up On The Roof Of A Shed
#107
I Know It's Not A Cat Or A Dog, But Check Out This Bundle Of Cuteness I Met On My Hike
#108
He’s Actually Real! Almost Stepped On Him While Hiking Yesterday
#109
Me And This Deer Chilled For A Solid 15-20 Minutes. I Was So Close I Could’ve Reached Out And Touched Him. Bros For Life
#110
Moose Calf Wants In
#111
My Dad Just Sent Me This From His Dog Walk. Seems Foxes Are Getting Bolder
#112
Wild Fox On A Boatyard
#113
Saw An Albino Squirrel In The Woods The Other Day
Lakota Wolf 3 years ago
Leucistic, not albino. Its eyes are pigmented, thus it's not an albino.
#114
10/10 Cutest Mushroom I Saw While Foraging Today
#115
This Fox I Encountered On My School's Campus While Going For A Walk Last Night
#116
Barred Owl Visiting Our Back Deck One Morning
#117
I Was Doing Dishes And Found This Smol Boi On A Bowl
#118
I’ve Never Encountered A More Hungry Duck
#119
Forgot My Scarf At A Park, Went Back And Found This Little Fella
#120
Wild Bird Literally Landed On My Pants Today, We’re Friends Now
#121
Baby Bunnies Found In The Backyard
#123
I'm Sitting With A Snail In A Bar
OnAFreakingRollercoaster 3 years ago
You know I've got a feeling he'll take your relationship nice and slow
#124
We Found A Muskrat Kit At Work Today. Got It Safely To The Wildlife Rescue
#125
One Month Ago My Sister Found A Tiny Egg And Gave It To Me. I Put It In A Jar Not Expecting Anything. But Today It Hatched! I'm A Father
#126
Found Bambi In Japan
#127
Found This Little Guy In My Pool Skimmer Today (Does Anyone Know What Kind Of Turtle It Is?)
#128
The Cute Encounter I Had Today
#130
Deer Came To Visit
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 3 years ago
Looks more like reindeer to me? But I'm no expert. Deer or not, I have never seen a fur coat like the young one has
#131
Saw An Interesting Group Of Friends This Morning
#132
Another Little Guy From A Hike In Colorado
#133
Was Clearing Out An Overgrowth When I Encountered This Lil Guy
#134
I Had My First Encounter With A Nutria Rat. Did Not Realize How Cute They Are In Real Life
Upstaged75 3 years ago
I'm not sure I find it cute. Looks like it wants to chomp someone's ankle. :)
#135
Wild Animals Commonly Visit My Boyfriend's Apartment Complex. This Is What He Discovered This Morning
#136
Made A Friend On A Hike Today
#139
I Still Can't Believe They Eat Together Every Morning
Up in New Jersey, they're called groundhogs. Super friendly. But you can't approach them or they run away. But we put nuts and seeds out every day and the squirrels and groundhog get along fine. Plenty of food for everyone. Even the birds show up eventually.
#140
I Had A Very Cooperative Model On My Hike Today
#141
Met This Lizard Outside The City, Released It Safe And Sound
Add New Image
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Chris Hooley 3 years ago (edited)
Wonderful, gorgeous, amazing. And sad. The foxes are beautiful, but here (Australia, ) they are an absolute curse. Amongst the most successful and devastating feral predators in the country, highly efficient at destroying native wildlife. Yet where they belong, such beautiful critters. Wouldn't it be lovely if humans didn't bvgger everything up all the time?
Gg 3 years ago
One night I heard a noise at my door. Told myself to ignore it cause I just be crazy. Heard the door again. Went to look and a raccoon was standing holding open the screen door like okay lady come on let me in my house! I'm so angry I didn't get a picture because it was the craziest thing I've ever seen.
Bec 3 years ago
I'm usually very independent. My husband was going to be traveling away from home for a few days, no big deal to me. Of course, the one time he is gone, about 10pm, there is banging and a racket at the front door, my heart is racing! I work up the courage to see who it is... A large raccoon climbing up the metal trellis trying to get on my roof! I banged hard on the door and yelled, which scared him down and back to his tree, took awhile to get to sleep after that though!
Load More Replies... Chris Hooley 3 years ago (edited)
Wonderful, gorgeous, amazing. And sad. The foxes are beautiful, but here (Australia, ) they are an absolute curse. Amongst the most successful and devastating feral predators in the country, highly efficient at destroying native wildlife. Yet where they belong, such beautiful critters. Wouldn't it be lovely if humans didn't bvgger everything up all the time?
Gg 3 years ago
One night I heard a noise at my door. Told myself to ignore it cause I just be crazy. Heard the door again. Went to look and a raccoon was standing holding open the screen door like okay lady come on let me in my house! I'm so angry I didn't get a picture because it was the craziest thing I've ever seen.
Bec 3 years ago
I'm usually very independent. My husband was going to be traveling away from home for a few days, no big deal to me. Of course, the one time he is gone, about 10pm, there is banging and a racket at the front door, my heart is racing! I work up the courage to see who it is... A large raccoon climbing up the metal trellis trying to get on my roof! I banged hard on the door and yelled, which scared him down and back to his tree, took awhile to get to sleep after that though!
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
