So you want to get a pet, and somehow just a dog or cat or goldfish won't cut it for you. Well, take note of these options to follow. Keep in mind there may be many more obstacles in the way than initially thought, such as legality in your locale, proper housing and necessities, and many more things to consider. Most animals are at home where they are meant to be, and that is in the wild. There is a reason why domesticated animals are ok with their situation and 'work' with it well. If someone were to ever have a more exotic pet, it would be preferable they are at least semi-domesticated from birth and all their needs are exceedingly met!
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| A bobcat chillin' at home with his domestic cat cousins.. |
1.The Big or Wild Cats- This could include tigers, lions, lynxes/bobcats, cheetahs, wild cats and so forth. If you don't want to go too crazy, a wild cat would be where to start. 'Wild cat' as in the species felis silvestris, not as in any old feline that is considered 'wild' (which could also be all the other cats in this #1 category here). They [felis silvestris] have been known to cross breed with domestic cats and it is theorized they were where the domestic originally came from. They won't necessarily be super tame or easy to train compared to a domestic, but are a hella lot easier and closer than say a tiger or lion. You'd have more chance of getting mauled with a tiger or lion! A shit-simple rough rule of thumb: the bigger and wilder the cat, the more you should be wary!
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| Givin' the cheetah some lovin' |
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| We want to see this lion do a big furry cannonball off the dive board... |
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| Bahahaha! Suckerrrrrr... |
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| Caracals are good if you want to go sleek and exotic... |
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2. BEARS- Lions and tigers and..bears..right. Bears, like the lions and tigers, must not be taken lightly. The first thing I think of when I think of pet bears would be the dancing bears that Gypsies have been known to rear. Animal cruelty people are all over this, since the bears' 'dancing' is actually usually them writhing in pain from chains and hooks tugged into their flesh (or more harmlessly they are responding to a command with a motion such as something like 'shake a paw' with dogs). Most are too docile and domesticated from birth so they don't rightly maul their owners in retaliation, though never underestimate pure instinct. Bears would make wicked pets for crazy wildmen and fishermen, as they are quite good at catching salmon etc.
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3.Wolves and Wolfdogs, Wild Dogs- First off, you can 'cheat' by getting a wolfdog or wolflike dog instead of a real wolf. A wolfdog is usually half wolf half dog (duh..easy). Not only will you have an easier time raising it, it may actually be legal where you are vs. potentially illegal wolves. Above is a sophisticated (or wannabe sophisticated) chart outlining common dog breeds and how much DNA they supposedly share in common with wolves. The most shared DNA is at the top, then in descending order there is less and less shared DNA. So a Chow Chow has more wolflike DNA than a German Shepherd, for example. HOWEVER, looks must be considered as well, just because there is more shared DNA in a certain breed does not mean it is more wolf-looking. The Shepherd is way more wolf-like in appearance than the Chow Chow, and has been x-bred with wolves to create the Saarloos Wolfhound breed. The Akita, Alaskan Malamute, and Husky breeds not only look very wolf-like but even share much of the same DNA, so they make prime breeds for wolfdogs as well. Sometimes they look very wolfish even without being x-bred with wolves! If you wanted just a dog but one a bit more exotic, and not a wolfdog either, there are many kinds of wild dog out there. One notable kind is the dingo of Australia. They have been known to be domesticated as well...
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| Above is a wolfdog and below a pure wolf. Notice how similar they can look! |
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| Here is a 'singing dingo' .. doing his best Barry Manilow croon I reckon |
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4.Coyotes-Actually could be bunched into the above category. They are their own kind, but loosely speaking coyotes are little wolves. In many Native dialects, the coyote would be called precisely that- 'little wolf'. Coyotes, unlike wolves, have adapted to the influence of humans quite well and urbanized themselves quite a bit. It's not to say there aren't problems, and that they ain't still wild! Yet if you were to get a domesticated kind as a pet, I'd bet due to its smaller size and tendency to be more adapted to the city that it would be easier than raising a wolf.
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5. Foxes-All kinds have been pets, but in particular the Domesticated Silver Fox breed is extra, well, domesticated. Foxes are crafty and curious little creatures.
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| What could be cuter than this baby big eared Fennec Fox? |
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6. Hyenas- They are actually related to felines more than canines, but behave and look much like dogs. Wild, crazy, scruffy dogs.
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| Well, here's one way to look badass.. |
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7.Skunks- Yes, people actually do keep skunks as pets. Why? Because they are nuts. Usually the scent glands responsible for shooting the horrible odour are removed. Though it'd be neat to have a skunk super well trained and have it spray people you don't like on command...
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| Gangstaaaaaaaa.. |
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8. Raccoons and relatives- Also found rifling through your garbage, coons can be pets. This is usually done from when they are young and orphaned. They can be clever and entertaining but loads of work. Since they are social and have special needs, it really is hard to raise just one alone. Watch you also don't get rabies! More exotic relatives of raccoons are coatis, ringtails, kinkajous and so forth.
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| Paris Hilton (ugh) with her pet kinkajou. It reportedly bit her too much so she gave it up (I suspect she was a very neglectful mother to it!) |
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9. Mustelids- That's just a fancy scientific word for otters, weasels, badgers, ermines, martens, fishers, sables, polecats, minks, ferrets and er..wolverines. Not ALL of these have been kept as pets, at least successfully. In example, the African honey badger (aka ratel) and the wolverine are both known to be some of the most vicious and hardcore creatures out there- one would be an utter and complete fool to toy with em' ! No, best to stick with more docile otters or polecats or ferrets, say.
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| Baby otters....'awwww' |
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| A ferret. These are actually one of the easier mustelids to find at a pet shop. |
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| A polecat samples some fine lager.. |
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10. Rodents- The usual types of rodents you find in the pet store are mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and chinchillas. More unique rodents would be creatures like marmots, degus, capybaras and flying squirrels. There are other kinds of weird rodents but I'll stick to these mentioned here. In cases outside of pet shops, most rodents are seen simply as urban pests! The capybaras are not usually so urban, they are the largest rodents out there, and are even eaten for their meat!
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| Sure hope these capybaras can swim! |
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| Dig the degu... |
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| I think a flying squirrel would be the neatest rodent to own... |
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| Check it out, it's the marmot |
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11. Marsupials and other furries- Marsupials are a type of animal with a pouch on their belly and they carry their young inside. This includes wallabies, kangaroos, and wallaroos, all from Australia. Those three types of creatures are all similar but if you're thinking of fry sizes kangaroos are large, wallaroos are medium, and wallabies small. Kangaroos and wallaroos are usually pretty wild and avoid people, and they bounce at quite a pace and are hard to catch! Watch out too, the legs are not just for jumping...they can be used for quite a mean kick! Some wallaroos and wallabies are more likely to be tame around people. It is rumored that they both have been reared as pets. Another type of marsupial (though much different looking from the roos and relatives), is the wombat, also from Australia. There's something about marsupials and Australia. Also found in and around there is the sugar glider...which is like a weird cross between a flying squirrel, possum and lemur. They can be exotic yet popular pets, many traded illegally unfortunately. There are a few more furry critters that are not marsupials, but they are just as weird and I'll mention them here as they seem to not fit in any other category. One is the civet or mongoose-like genet, the other is the familiar hedgehog.
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| Have you hugged a wombat today? |
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| The wallaby is on the left, the slightly larger wallaroo to the right..... |
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| And there's our sugar glider...with baby..even the adults are quite small no? |
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| This genet seems to have a cheetah style coat and raccoon tail |
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| Hedgehog baseball time... (just kidding) |
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12. Primates- Monkeys, gorillas, all that jazz. We humans are technically primates too. Have you thought about keeping your best friend as a pet? How do you classify them all, what is the difference between a monkey or say ape? Humans, chimps, orangutans, gorillas, and gibbons are all scientifically apes. Monkeys are not, but in non technical terminlogy they can be loosely referred to as apes in an almost slang way. And chimps are called monkeys a lot, though they are technically apes. Confusing a bit?
Anyhow, in the animal world apes and monkeys (chimps in particular) are thought to be the closest relatives to us. They behave in many similar fashions and are highly intelligent. They need immense care and are not to be taken lightly. If you thought owning a lion or something could be dangerous, remember a chimp or gorilla can easily tear your face off and beat you to a bloody pulp. If you can even legally get one, you must remember this animal may be a lot more human-like than you think.
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| This gorilla, Koko, was quite smart with communicating and became endeared to a little kitten.. |
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| There are many, many types of monkey...this here is a spider monkey |
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| Do not fuck with a chimp who knows karate!! |
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13. Reptilians-Scaly and Scary. You might have noticed almost every creature up to this point has been FURRY. Well, things are about to get more slippery. People have been known to keep reptile pets like gators, crocodiles, and big snakes (like pythons). Traditionally all these can be dangerous, but a certain WTF factor entered my mind as I saw this pic:
Turns out this lady, Vicki Lowing, loved her croc so much she'd watch TV with it and all that stuff you'd prolly normally do with a cat or dog. She even ended up getting divorced over it. It's pretty crazy!
As far as snakes go, they are actually common pets. What is more uncommon is to have the giant variety as pet...
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| Ah....what a nice recliner! |
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14. Fish and other aquatic creatures- This is kinda like the case of reptiles...many kinds are common pets- certain kinds are the exception. Start with piranhas. If you don't know, they can reduce a lamb carcass to floating bones in a manner of minutes. Vicious things. I remember they found a dead piranha in a local lake once, and the news figured it was a pet that got released and died in the cold water (piranhas are tropical). Good thing it died then. If you are rich enough and have a big enough water tank, you can get pet sharks, stingrays, electric eels, you know...something a bit more loopy than just Jimmy the Goldfish in his little bowl.
The thing about having those kinds of pets is you pretty much make sure they have the space and the water is clean and aerated, feed them, and ...yeah. It's not like you have to 'train' them like a tiger or dog. You just let them do their thing. Like bite you if you accidentally fall in...
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| This is obviously not real, but wouldn't it be cool if sharks could actually survive a common pool and fetch the Times for you? |
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| This dude appears to be ready to pet his pet rays... |
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| Here R some piranhas in a tank..safe behind a wall of glass |
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| Didn't believe that thing I said about the lamb? Forget the mintsauce.. |
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| This holiday season...go green and power your X-mas tree with electric eels... |
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15. More Creepy Crawlies- Let's not forget insects and arachnids. Pets like scorpions, tarantulas, beetles, etc. Maybe you like the fact they are freaky to look at...maybe they are very low maintenance (well, compared to a lot of pets!) Some people even keep cockroaches as pets, like in terrariums. Like, I don't know why they don't just move to a really seedy roach infested apartment in NYC.
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| Dunno what stings more, the scorpion or this chick's frigid stare... |
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| Despite their freaky appearance tarantulas are pretty safe. By safe I mean you won't die easily if they bite you.. |
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| Creepy as hell. A real big centipede. |
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| I've always wanted to play soccer with a millipede..now I can cross it off the bucket list.. |
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| The Orchid Mantis and Walking Stick both have mind blowing camouflage! |
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| Try getting a bigass beetle like this Rhinoceros Beetle, then give it a little cowboy hat |
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| This here is a vinegaroon, or whip-tail scorpion |
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16. Boids (birds) -Well, finding a bird in a pet shop ain't hard. Usually 'exotic' entails some type of tropical bird or parrot. You could also have like a pet eagle or hawk or vulture or penguin..and you won't find any of those in the pet shop! In most cases it's probably illegal and lots of work too, as with many of these pets in this article. I've heard a story from a friend about a pet eagle. Some dude (possibly a ranger or something) in Arizona found and rehabilitated a young and/or injured eagle, he named her Luna. She grew so big and strong he had to chain her to a big cinder block in the backyard so she couldn't fly away. Sounds cruel, but she wasn't ready for the wild yet. And I'm sure it's not like he just left here there all the time. In fact, he'd drive out to a canyon or some remote place and take Luna for a 'fly' as one takes a dog for a walk. Luna would come back 10 minutes later. The next time it'd be 15 minutes...and so on. The times increased until it seemed like Luna was ready to be on her own. So this guy and all his ranger or police buddies lined up for a grand sendoff, a formal goodbye and happy freedom ceremony where they saw Luna fly away for good. As far as eagles and hawks go, falconry (hunting with trained birds of prey) has been practiced since ancient times. Your best bet to own a raptor is to become a licensed falconer, it can be done in most parts of the world. This is a lot of work though. Keep in mind you won't be just pouring kibble into a bowl and having the bird sit in a cage all the time. To be the least cruel as possible, you will be taking your bird out for daily hunts and flights to help give it a chance to use hunting instincts and to spread its wings. It will be far less 'pet' and far more 'hunting companion'. For the other birds, I'm not quite sure how one would go about getting a frigging pet penguin or any other bird as wild as that!
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| Watch the falcon master go! |
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| A dude...with a pet eagle...yes.. |
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| Well I guess the dog knows not to maul the penguin right? Slide.... |
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| A pet vulture would be a great way to creep people out.. |
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17. Safari Leftovers- I know, dumb title. This is getting to be quite the large article, yes? Almost there! These are the kinds of African animals you'd see on a safari or something that would already exclude lions and cheetahs and crocs and so forth (since they've all been covered thus far). For example, a hippo or zebra:
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| Geezer On Zebra: coming this summer to a theater near YOU. |
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| Or.....ride a hippo. I heard hippos can be very fooking dangerous. I guess this one's xtra tame? |
Any other exotic pets you can think of? I suppose a camel or something. That's not a safari creature..more desert xpedition creature. But yeah, I think most of them are covered in this here article. Anything else is up to your whimsy and research and digging...cheers!
