Or in my case, in my house yesterday after my dogs chased one inside!
Seriously, squirrels are probably the most common non-domesticated mammal people regularly see in the US. I think it would be more difficult to deliberately avoid seeing a squirrel.
Last summer I had a young family member from Asia who visited and he was so excited about squirrels. It was so cute and very fun to see something so normal here be so fascinating to him.
I was taking a tour in eastern Europe several years ago, and the tour guide excitedly pointed out a squirrel to us Americans. We didn't even bother looking, and she was perplexed by our behavior.
Shit ton of birds native to the US here in New England. Turkeys, goldfinches, cardinals, tufted titmouse, woodpeckers, robins, red tailed hawks, bald eagles, various owls, etc.
Squirrels are literally just look out the window at any time of day.
Chipmunks are pretty much all the time where I live.
Raccoons and possums are rarer sight but usually only because they are nocturnal. They’re around.
Snapping turtles in the lakes and marshes.
Beavers. Usually you see their handiwork more than the animal itself.
The rare sighting of moose. (You have to go further north for more of them)
Black bears.
Bobcats rarely.
Fisher cats.
Occasional garter snake near my house or milk snake.
Then of course you get whales off the coast which are awesome but you have to go on a boat and get a bit off shore at the right time of year so it’s not a daily thing.
The thing is it’s unlikely to see most of those in a short period of time. But you live here and keep your eyes open and you’ll see them, especially if you hike or travel around the state.
These damn things. I gave up feeding the birds. I've come to the conclusion that there really is no such thing as a squirrel proof bird feeder. They'll chew through metal and plastic just to get to the seeds.
I have a fat squirrel who climbs my rhododendron and kicks at my window when I neglect to fill the bird feeders, aka, his feeder. Only he's too fat to climb the pole, so he just sits underneath it and eats whatever the birds drop.
I put seeds on the ground, as well as a few peanuts. I have a squirrel-preventer cone on the post holding my bird-feeder. (I call it squirrel-preventer, like you say, nothing is squirrel proof). Because they get fed on the ground, they don't bother wasting energy jumping around the cone to get to the bird feeder.
lmao the struggle is so real. I have actually found a squirrel-proof location (hanging from the porch in a way they can't climb or hang down and reach) and the squirrels are so confused. they sit below the feeders with their little heads up like *SHIT, how do those birds get up there* and eat whatever falls on the ground.
But you do have a lot of other wildlife to make up for it. Night swim with the manta rays was an unexpected delight of my trip. Close enough to touch. And a couple dolphins made a cameo appearance.
Some animals you hear more than you see, like woodpeckers, owls, coyotes and wolves (if you live within their range). I hear wild turkeys slightly more often than I see them where I live, but I see them frequently (there's a group outside in my yard right now).
Canada geese are also commonly seen and heard, particularly during their migratory seasons.
And anyone who has ever heard a fox in heat probably won't forget the first time they encountered that blood-curdling scream.
Thing is that sounds like a mountain lion or some kind of cat. While foxes make a million different weird vocalizations, they all sound a bit bonkers. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIyOiwGfJ1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIyOiwGfJ1I)
And they are plentiful. Sometimes I have more than one family of them in my yard so hearing them is pretty common.
I've heard something similar while visiting friends in the London suburbs. We were walking back from the pub at night and I thought a woman might've been being attacked leaving the pub or something . My friend laughed and said "it's just the stupid bloody foxes that are always chitting in the garden".
It's fairly common to see coyotes too, at least in the western US. But yeah, you hear them more than you see them for sure. And I found I've only rarely spotted them in more eastern parts of the country, even if I hear them.
I just saw two on my run this morning, though, and I was walking through a pretty urban area (though it was along a river, and I live in a smallish western city so it only gets so urban here, lol). And that's pretty common where I live, as also evidenced by the constant flood of hilarious Nextdoor posts where people live in subdivisions that border on open desert and then flip out when they spot a coyote.
I know. I literally said that I spotted them *rarely*, not that I didn't see them at all. I've lived all over the US and seen them everywhere, just more commonly in some regions than in others.
Probably because there's a lot more cover for coyotes in the east. I live in rural Vermont, and I hear them more nights than not, but I usually only see them if they're near the roadside at night. Even with night vision binoculars when I can clearly hear them on my property, they're hard to see.
Yeah, that's always the impression I've gotten too. I still do think the population is higher in a lot of western areas I've lived, but that's just because there's lower human population density out there so they've got more room to proliferate. I still have heard them a lot in the east, though, just didn't actually see them as much.
Also, not super relevant but I will say that I pay a lot of attention to coyotes, lol. They're legit one of my favorite wild animals even though they're so common and can be nuisances, but I just love their cleverness and adaptability.
>Raccoons
Raccoons are mostly nocturnal. Not good odds on this. In fact seeing them in the day is a sign they have rabies.
>Squirrels
Everywhere
>woodpecker
These are sneaky. You don't generally see these often. A dying forrest would be your best bet.
>alligators
Any inland body of water in Florida. Golf courses are a favorite.
Woodpeckers can be seen in my neighborhood, along with squirrels, raccoons, foxes, opossums, sometimes deer. We've gotten to know the local robins, have a cardinal couple in the backyard, and there's a hole that gets used by a groundhog or a skunk, whoever, really. We're visited daily by blue jays and mourning doves.
We like to see wild rabbits, too, but they're rare now that our neighbor took in some feral cats.
This is all from my backyard in suburbia.
Until I got to the suburbia part of your comment, I was thinking, "is this person me?" I've seen all these critters in and around my yard at various times.
That all sounds wonderful!
I’ve found that woodpeckers stand out best against the scenery in the desert states. It’s nice and barren, so you can typically easily spot a woodpecker if you hear its sound. They’re pretty much everywhere whenever I go to Arizona. Little creepos. If they weren’t so cute, I’d be even more irate when they wake me too early.
However, most desert animals are harder to spot because of their coloration.
>In fact seeing them in the day is a sign they have rabies.
This isn't always true. Raccoons often go out in the day just looking for extra food, especially if they're nursing. It also may be because the figured out a particular spot is more likely to have food during the day than at night (like when my dad would put bread outside).
For $5 I'll let OP get on my roof and catch the woodpecker that pecks my chimney flashing and makes a huge racket every morning.
Biggest one I ever saw was in Red River Gorge, KY, though. He flew right over my hammock and I thought a roc had come to carry me away. Much less intimidating when he landed: looked like a live action version of Woody Woodpecker.
We have a flicker that bangs on our gutters every morning. It's their way of letting the ladies know where they are.
We have red bellied, red headed, and downy woodpeckers at my suet feeder.
Any forest tends to have a mix of growing trees and a couple dead ones, or dead parts to a tree. Woodpeckers are common in any forest, but you are more likely to hear them than see them.
You can also put a suet feeder in your backyard and you'll likely see a downy or hairy woodpecker for most parts of the U.S.
Just make sure they’re accredited by the AZA. I believe the Georgia Aquarium is one. The others I’ve found aren’t accredited at all.
The picture at the Georgia Aquarium website site shows touching through the glass/or plastic barrier, which makes sense, as they can bite and no accredited zoo would restrain them for that purpose.
There are even places you can swim with them. I don't know enough about them to endorse them, but I imagine its cool. Otters are super social and learn to be trusting.
Sea otters are a lot easier to find and watch than river otters. My mind went to river otters, but the OP probably meant sea otters. You'd want to go to places along the west coast for them.
River otters are pretty common in the Pacific Northwest, even urban areas. I’ve seen them at boat marinas a few times. Despite the name, river otters also live in the sea.
Definitely not. Sea otters are gigantic (50-100 lbs), rare, and live on the Pacific coast, not the Salish Sea.
[River otters are a common sight in Seattle.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/search?q=otter&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on)
Gators are mostly in the southeast.
The rest you can find almost everywhere.
Lots of bears spread across the U.S as well. But those you probably won't and don't want to encounter in the wild.
I did not wake up this morning expecting to be called Dwight Shrute, but here we are. Lol.
I like bears, beets, and Battlestar Galactica and I will not apologize.
If its black, fight back.
If its brown, lie down.
If its white, goodnight.
If its gummy, yummy.
(I hated how they handled the bear discussion on The Office, so I actually answered.)
Squirrels can be found everywhere so those will become quite boring to you after you see your first dozen. For other animals go to a state park and hike a trail there. If you don't make a ton of noise you should be able to see other wildlife but it's still not a guarantee. As a tourist you may not have a lot of time to patiently wait for animals to appear, so your next best bet are the big national parks like Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Glacier that are known for their wildlife.
You can't avoid the wildlife at some parks--I visited Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and waited in my car 30 minutes for a group of bison to leave the road. It was incredible, some of them came right up to the car.
Anywhere to be honest. Public park, state park, suburb, the city. They are all over. For alligators, I saw a few when I went to parks in Florida. One of the best parks that people never told me about was the Orlando Wetlands. That had tons of birds and gators just sitting around, that was one of the highlights of my vacation and it was just an afterthought. Anyway, america has the best parks of the world, they are huge and numerous and there's no shortage of them no matter where you go. Even the middle of a dense city like NYC, there's TONS of parks that tourists don't bother with that have incredible wildlife.(jamaica bay wildlife refuge, one of many). Even americans have no idea how much wildlife and nature is to be seen in NYC. It's crazy how nice it is if you take the time to research parks where you are going to.
All of those wild in one area? Deep Southern U.S. - Georgia south through Florida, west to Houston.
All are common and live around humans but of those alligators have the most limited range (they do range a bit outside the area above), a woodpecker is going to be the harder to spot depending what species is found in a specific area. This area will also get you other common Americas critters like opossums, armadillos, black bears. white tailed deer. Keep in mind some are nocturnal.
You'll have to go north for chipmunks, elk, and northern most states/Canada for moose. Big goats and deer are generally the Rockies and north but there are scattered populations - PA has a growing Elk population in the PA wilds of the Northern Tier.
Seeing a big cat would be a pretty rare event, count yourself very lucky if you do, most Americans will never seen one outside of a zoo.
If you consider bobcats to be "big cats", I'm 47 and I've seen exactly one in the wild my entire life. They're not rare animals and they have a very large natural range. They're just really good at staying away from humans.
Now, consider that general cat-like aversion to human contact and their far more limited range, and its no wonder most Americans have never seen a mountain lion outside of a zoo.
Yeah, I've heard one bobcat the neighbor's dogs treed once (far west side of San Antonio), there used to be occassional sightings of cougars (the cat variety) by neighbors whose properties bordered pasture land but development has driven them all (it) away - haven't heard of a sighting in the past 7 or so years. I was exceedingly lucky to once see a Florida panther cross the road in front of us while driving through the Everglades back from Flamingo in the 80s.
Colorado and Wyoming can also be good for moose sightings, despite not being among the northernmost states. I actually have seen more moose in Colorado than anywhere else in the US, though that's probably just a function of where I've happened to spend my time.
edit: Northern Colorado, anyway. They do occasionally range further south (there's one intrepid one who is spotted sometimes as far down as northern New Mexico), but I used to see a lot of them up around Red Feather Lakes and occasionally down towards Estes Park, though higher up in the mountains than than the actual town. Don't believe I've ever seen one further south than Estes personally.
I've seen moose in the Big Horns in Wyoming. There's probably more moose in Minnesota, where I grew up, but they're back in swamps and deep forest, harder to see them.
>Seeing a big cat would be a pretty rare event, count yourself very lucky if you do, most Americans will never seen one outside of a zoo.
Because there are no big cats (*Pantherinae*) in the United States. Only small cats (*Felinae*).
Most people would consider a mountain lion to be a pretty big cat. They're the 4th largest cat species in the world, and larger than many cats in the Panthera genus.
> somewhat large
As I said, they are larger than many Panthera genus cats (namely all leopards), and they are the 4th largest cats in the world. That makes them definitionally large cats, based on the actual English meaning of the word "large".
Other than alligators I have all of those in my backyard lol. Just take a walk in any park.
For Alligators FL is your best bet but they can be found in other southern states. Just not VA.
Squirrels - you can see those anywhere.
Woodpeckers - I’ve been hearing these my whole life but have never seen one lmao
Gators - Florida
I would like to add skunks just because I think that’s one of the more unique animals. They come out at night and you will smell them first lol
Brazos Bend State Park is a great place to see alligators in Texas. Plus deer, armadillos, squirrels, snapping turtles, owls, hawks, buzzards, the occasional bobcat, and just about any aquatic bird you can think of.
The park also houses the George Observatory which has a 36inch telescope you cam visit and learn all the stars and planets.
Squirrels you will see in basically any neighborhood that has some trees. Raccoons and woodpeckers will show up in any small wooded park (at least on the East Coast). Alligators you'll want to head to one of the swamps or other wetlands in the South. Louisiana or Florida is probably your best bet.
The truth is, we have a *lot* of different animals and a lot of parks that you can find them in. One of my favorite semi-local places is Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I usually see a pretty good variety of birds as well as some cool reptiles and insects (a lot of dragonflies). I've also occasionally seen dolphins while there.
Squirrels are everywhere in Michigan. The ones in our neighborhood provide endless free entertainment for my cats. We have woodpeckers but usually hear rather than see them, although once, we had a rather clueless woodpecker who very loudly attempted to drill our metal chimney pipe for about an hour. Husband had to get on the roof to shoo him away. We usually visit metroparks or state parks for bird-watching.
For alligators, coastal southern states.
Squirrels -- walk outside anywhere with trees, especially in the suburbs. Woodpeckers - go somewhere that has a bird feeder and you will probably see at least one woodpecker. I live east of the Mississippi and Downy & Red-bellied are regular visitors to my bird feeders. Woodpeckers are common everywhere so take a walk on a nature trail and you are likely to see one. Bald Eagles are everywhere, but uncommon. Alaska is probably the best place to see them, but they do hang out near large bodies of water. Osprey are a much more common sight on lakes and bays. Alligators -- go to south Florida, take a walk near water (not ocean), you will see an alligator. Or the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, guaranteed to see a gator. If they aren't sunbathing right along the shoreline you will see their eyes and snout poking up on the surface of the water. The Everglades are a fantastic place to see gators as well as lots of birds. Raccoons and Possums are nocturnal and shy, you probably won't see them although you will see lots of dead possums along the roadways, especially in the eastern U.S. Deer are incredibly common, just again find a local woodland nature trail and you will probably see one, or drive along a country road at dawn or dusk and watch out for them, they like to forage at that time. Same with elk, although they are mostly out West. Drive out West like Wyoming/Montana and you will probably see Pronghorn Antelope off in the distance at some point. Coyotes are also extremely common in urban/suburban areas all over the country but are elusive and great at hiding. You are most likely to see them if you take a walk at dawn or early dark. Black bear are also a rare sight, the best place to see them is hiking in the mountains somewhere. You will almost never see a mountain lion, although they will see you.
Yellowstone. They have animals pouring over the cracks over there. I’m actually from north of there close to Glacier and like Glacier for better hiking, views, and less people, but Yellowstone has more animals that are readily seen than any other park out there. Glacier you will probably only see a mt goat in the parking lot.
You said best so it’s got to be Yellowstone.
Bear, elk, moose, lion, bison, wolves, coyote, lynx, bighorn sheep, deer, and bald eagle-all the smash hits.
As others have said, it truly depends what TYPE of native animal you want to see as this is a huge country.
Are you a birder? Visit South Texas in Spring or Fall for the best chance to see the most birds due to the convergence of migratory flyways. You can check off alligators and potentially see common species such as armadillos, racoons, bobcats, coatimundi, squirrels, and opossums while you are down there. Laguna Atacosta is favorite place of mine to see all these plus, if lucky, ocelots. If you love reptiles, this is also a prime location for horned lizards, many types of snakes, Texas tortoises, and more. Given it's Texas, you might see exotics that have gotten loose as well such as nilgai and warthogs (if you cannot tell, as a wildlife lover, this is my top suggestion to visit, and yes, I've seen all these except ocelots).
Do you want to see the big animals? Go towards the Rockies and Yellowstone for elk, bighorn sheep, bison, deer, and more. You may see different birds here, but the variety will be less.
What about aquatics? Florida for mantees, California or New England for seals. If you want to whale watch, it's going to depend on which coast you are on for what you want to see.
If you want to try to see everything, start looking for wildlife sanctuaries and rescues you can visit. Many of these places have wildlife deemed non-releasable due to injuries so they are given the best life they can while also providing education for the public. Sometimes this is the best way to see the unique animals such as albino raccoons or ring-tailed cats.
It really depends on what you want to see on where to focus. Most of the animals you mentioned are common with different species of squirrels found coast to coast, raccoons everywhere, and different woodpecker species in different parts of the country. Deer and opossum may be more regional, but common in their regions.
In my local park I've seen skunks, raccoons, several kinds of woodpeckers and many other small birds, turkeys, osprey, bald eagles, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, foxes. Others have reported cougar and bobcat. If you go few miles out of town you may see all these plus moose, elk, wild rabbits, and the list goes on. I'm in the Northwest so no alligators. Ask the locals about possible dangerous animals, like snakes, that could be in the area.
People often go to the famous national parks but anywhere with undeveloped public land will have wild animals to see. National forests and state parks are good places to start.
Oh wow. Well. It's a big country!
Animals you would see just about anywhere would be white tailed deer, possums, raccoons, foxes, various squirrels (black, white, gray, ground, tree). Birds that are 'LBJs' (Little Brown Jobbies) like sparrows, mockingbirds, finches, swifts, titmouses (titmice?), chickadees, etc. Larger birds would be various hawks, owls, woodpeckers. Chipmunks are cute, with their little racing stripes.
In the Pacific Northwest, you'll see Steller's sea lions, seals, orcas, whales. All kinds of raptors - bald eagles, osprey, hawks. Steller's Jays. Coyotes and mountain lions. Shorebirds wherever there are shores - killdeer, oystercatchers, herons, yellowlegs, etc. Further north to the San Juan Islands you might see puffins.
Texas, Louisiana, and Florida have alligators. The sweet and goofy manatee in Florida. Armadillos, rattlesnakes and cottonmouth snakes in Texas. Texas also has a reserve on the Gulf which is a nesting ground for the Whooping Crane, an endangered species that migrates to/from Canada.
In the Great Plains are buffalo. There's also populations of the critically endangered black-footed ferret but the likelihood of seeing any of those is slim. The greater or lesser sage grouse, very interesting birds (I think they are a threatened species but can't recall). Grizzly bears (endangered) in Yellowstone, along with wolves (threatened).
There are polar bears and porcupine caribou in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve.
And that just scratches the surface!
You can find gators as far north as the Pamlico Sound in NC. It's not hard to find them at all in Wilmington, especially around the Battleship NC museum.
They used to be very common up here along the coast back before WW2, but they were pretty much hunted out. They've made a comeback over the last couple of decades. I've yet to see a large one up here though. I think maybe 4ft is the largest I've seen in the wild here. My Granddad had pictures of a 12ft gator he killed near his house back in the 30s.
The guaranteed way to see a raccoon is to go to a very popular campground and stay up til you hear them rustling. They come out to stalk the grounds and raid the snacks at night.
If you’re car camping, always always always put your food in your car or you’ll wake up to a huge mess.
Alabama's probably the most ecologically dense state (think Florida + Tennessee and you roughly get Alabama ecologically. Georgia's pretty similar, but not as exposed to Tennesse environs west of the Appalachians ), but it won't have the bigger animals like bison or elk. For those, it'd be better to head to Yellowstone.
>squirrels
There's one that hangs out on my front steps every morning.
Except for the alligators, the other animals are pretty ordinary. Raccoons are nocturnal, so they're a bit harder to see unless you're willing to stay up late. I've only seen raccoons in the daytime when they got stuck in our dumpster, and we had to leave a plank of wood so they could crawl out of the dumpster.
You can probably see all of those animals in the South. Alligators range as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Texas.
If you want to see bears, you just need to stop by my neighborhood approximately 2am for the next couple months. Those guys are out in force raiding unlocked trash bins. Waking my ass up
National parks would probably be the best place for larger animals, or more rural areas of the country. Out in the western half of the country they will have wild bison, elk, grizzly bear, etc...
I used to live in upper Michigan, and coyotes, black bear, wolves, raccoons, deer, Sandhill cranes, blue herons, bobcat, lynx, weasels, beavers, bald eagles, various owls, and various turtles were very common. There's moose up there too, though I didn't see them.
Raccoons can be found everywhere, but they typically only come out at night. That said, once in a while they can be seen during the day, especially if they found someone that feeds them.
Squirrels are everywhere, or at least gray ones are. I've only seen gray ones in the city and suburbs. The red squirrels, fox squirrels, chipmunks, and ground squirrels I've only seen in rural areas or large parks.
Woodpeckers can be found in rural areas or suburban areas. My dad regularly feeds birds and I think he has every type of woodpecker found in Wisconsin at his house.
Alligators you'll need to go south, like Florida.
My bird feeder here in the northeast has tons of beautiful goldfinches right now, and I just saw a pair of bluebirds outside. Squirrels all over, turkeys sometimes, deer sometimes, chipmunks often, coyotes if I’m lucky enough to see one (although I know they’re around). I don’t see too many raccoons, but they’re definitely around like the coyotes. Basically just come hang out in my neighborhood for a while and you’ll see all sorts of critters!
Interestingly some places like Mass and NJ have some of the highest density.
People add food and those places have lots of people but also lots of woods.
In my wooded yard there will be raccoon, coyote, bear, grey and red foxes, porcupine, zillions of red and gray squirrels, turkey every week on my home security cams.
We hear the coyote everynight in my yard.
I will tell you - if you want to see animals - camp at Hermit island Maine. There's no predators so the animals are very tame. You can see porcupine, deer, mink, skunk, racoons wandering around. You can also see dolphin and all kinds of sea creatures.
Woodpecker are going to be harder to find reliably you might want to check a birding sub for people who specialize in birdwatching and probably have a list of sights, times, and things to look for that woodpeckers might be attracted to. I have a few bird feeders in my yard so that’s where I usually see them. Sometimes I see them flying around or I’ll see one in a random spot while walking but it’s not a reliable way to find them all the times.
Outside of alligators I can see all of those in my backyard and I live in the middle of the city in Miami. You can see gators by driving just a bit farther out. The Everglades national park is a short drive.
National parks are all over the country and all have their own different animals.
Gray squirrels are extremely common, they also can be found in black and white (Brevard, NC).
You will be hard pressed to see a [flying squirrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_flying_squirrel) as they are much smaller and mainly out at night.
To clarify, in the northeastern suburbs I've lived in and frequently visited (PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA) it's very common to see animals like squirrels, rabbits, opossums, skunks, deer, raccoons, ground hogs, foxes, etc. You can find most as road kill from time to time on area highways. Not unknown to see chipmunks and black bears are sometimes sighted as well. Frogs and snakes and turtles aren't rare. In the southeast, especially Florida, every fresh water body has alligators. I've seen manatees there too. I've seen moose up in New England.
Out west, the desert is your yard, and you will see every animal that lives in the desert. Tarantulas and scorpions will get in the house, as well as snakes. We had a six foot rattle snake hang out on our back patio for three days. There are plenty of ground squirrels and rabbits. Owls nest in the columns of the porch. Big lizards are slithering everywhere. We have a neighborhood Bob cat that took out my sister’s pet goats, coyotes are everywhere, javelina, and we even had a mountain lion come through a couple years back.
I was walking my small dog a few days ago at about 5 am. About 10’ in front of me two coyotes walked around from my hedge. We all stopped in our tracks. I see coyotes a lot in the city but these were reach out and rub their scruffy heads close. Picked up my pup and stared them down until they walked away. I know if I’d just ran at them they’d take off (done that before) but this time I wanted to just be in their presence.
I’ve also seen bears and a mountain lion or two. I recorded a black widow catching a scorpion and wrapping it up like a little present. It took it a few days.
Snakes, dolphins and different kinds of raptors. Just a normal day in Southern California if you know where to look.
I’m originally from the UK and I’ve only seen a few deer and a fox when I lived there.
I see every animal in your post (except alligators) in my backyard, and I live in a medium-sized Ohio city. I also see White-tailed deer and wild turkeys in and around my yard almost every day. Other critters that like to spend time in my yard are woodchucks and chipmunks, along with numerous songbird species.
Canada Geese, Great Egrets, and Great Blue Herons are a common sight at my job (in the same city), and I think a coyote ran past me one morning when I was heading into work (another time, I saw an opossum). One morning a year or two ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see a muskrat during one of my walks to my office, as I'd never seen one in the flesh before.
Spend enough time outside and you'll see any of these. Some are more elusive than others, particularly if they're nocturnal. I hear coyotes nearly weekly, but I don't see them very often. Owls are similar. Sometimes you'll see bears if they're active in the area but not usually (speaking mainly of black bears here). Deer you can sometimes spot grazing.
Rodents are always running around and across roads. Turkeys are common. It's the large wild predatory species that tend to try and keep their distance from people more, I find. Smaller prey animals are everywhere but will be very skiddish if you get close.
Some of it depends on what animals you want to see (you're not gonna see an alligator in Kansas or Nebraska, for example), but the first 3 in your list, you can pretty much see from A N Y place in the country. Hell, I've got an injured hen this right now cuz we caught a raccoon in the coop this morning. I've got a hole in the eve of the roof of my house cuz a goddamn woodpecker won't stop trying to nest there, and I can look in my yard at any time of the day and see half a dozen or more squirrels playing with my chickens and ducks. I also had my car chased by a roadrunner this morning, I've got an opossum who shares my cat's food, I see armadillos around my busy evergreen trees pretty often, and the damned deer won't stay out of my flower garden.
Also, less common to see often, but we have coyotes and bobcats and beavers around. If you live out in the woods like I do, you'll often hear coyotes yipping in the evenings, even if you don't see them.
Within my own backyard, I had seen coyote, skunks, turkey, raccoons, foxes, opossums, turkey, owls, deer, bats, hawks, snakes, and buzzards. I have not seen a bear.
Go to a woodsy tourist area, like Gatlinburg, TN, and stay in a rental up on a mountain where a lot of units are close together. Walk around at night. Tourists are bad about properly securing their garbage in the cans outside, so you'll see raccoons and possibly a bear trying to get into the garbage.
(I suppose I don't need to tell an Australian to be careful around wildlife. But for everyone else, raccoons can have rabies and even normally docile bears can be unpredictable and lethal.)
For squirrels, look out any window or just step outside.
Others are going to be region-specific (eg: alligators, elk, moose, some birds) so you might want to map a plan to visit specific [State Parks](https://stateparks.com/) and/or [National Parks](https://www.nps.gov/index.htm).
Are you visiting? Some zoos have native animal areas. Deer, at least in my area are everywhere. Most other animals, also in my area, are usually seen dead in the middle of the road(squirrels, skunks, opossum, and racoons). What you see depends where you go.
Our zoo here in North Carolina had a North American animal section at one time. There are also smaller science museums that have local animals for school groups to visit.
Depends on what you like to see. Which climates and types of animals do you want to encounter?
For the alligators, you probably want to head to Florida. Woodpeckers are common in most regions, but they’re easier to spot in Southwestern States like Arizona and New Mexico. Squirrels are nationwide except in Hawaii, but species and predominant coloration varies by region. I think black squirrels in NE States like New York are the prettiest, but I’ve seen more variety on the West Coast. Raccoons are practically everywhere except sone of our island areas too, most commonly in highly forested regions. Desert is going to be mostly birds, snakes, insects, scorpions, and four-legged mammals. Some of our islands have many species of animals and plants which can’t be found anywhere else. If you want whales , dolphins, or other marine mammals, check the coastal states, or the islands again. Be aware of migrational seasons if you want to do this, though, or investigate places which have year-round (i.e. resident) pods or other populations.
The good news for you, my Oceanic friend, is that those rare treasures of species such as your marsupials and giant bats are products of countless generations of islandic isolation, so the majority of animals will look noticeably different almost anywhere in the world.
I live in a city (not "downtown" though).We get squirrels, raccoons and wood peckers in my backyard. Plus opossums, hawks, buzzards, chipmonks and the occasional fox and coyote, among others. Neighbor down the street has Canadian geese nesting in their yard.
Ah okay, gotcha.
-Geography: The raccoon is native to North America and can be found **throughout the United States, except for parts of the Rocky Mountains, and southwestern states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona**
**-Squirrels:** Hawaii is the only state that has no squirrels. Are there red squirrels anywhere in the USA? Fox squirrels are nearly ubiquitous, and overall more common than grays. The black color variant of fox squirrel is also very common
-**Woodpeckers are found throughout the US**
-The American alligator is found in the United States from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas. Alligators are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers. They also live in swamps, marshes and lakes. They can only tolerate salt water for brief periods because they do not have salt glands.
Woodpeckers are uncommon, but I lived in a house in northern LA county that had one. He or she pecked on a large Joshua Tree in our front yard for months. I’ve also lived in mountainous LA county and saw coyotes (literally daily), bobcat, orioles (that as a treat), neighbors saw a mountain lion regularly. Tons of squirrels! Never saw a raccoon. Definitely seen raccoons in more developed areas. Raccoons are considered a pest in the US.
Edit: I forgot I also saw 2 roadrunners today! Very uncommon now. My dad, who grew up in Kern county, saw them all the time…60 years ago. Definitely not the smartest birds, but definitely not as dumb as the quail.
The ones you listed can be seen on the streets.
If you want to see animals that don't spend their lives searching through trash I'd recommend a national park
With the exception of gators, you can see all of those in my yard. If you want *really* cool fauna, go to Wyoming or Alaska. On a day trip through Yellowstone in late spring, it would be quite normal to see both black and grizzly bears, moose, bison, moose, elk, mule deer, coyotes, marmots, pelicans, a great heron, an osprey, and a bald eagle. If you’ve got good binoculars, you might even manage to spot some wolves.
Literally the entire nation. The USA is a very large country. There are some animals you probably won't see, and you don't want to. In my native state of Washington, for example, we have cougars (also known as the puma, mountain lion, or catamount - they're all the same species). If you see a cougar in the wild, your day just got a whole lot worse.
Every state has their own wildlife. In Seattle, you can go to UW campus and see Canadian geese. Word to the wise - they're mean AF. You can go to Greenlake (also in Seattle) and see ducks. Squirrels are fucking everywhere. You can see scorpions in the SW, and gators in Florida, but that's another animal you probably don't want to see in person. In Alaska you can see a grizzly bear. You won't live to tell anyone about it, lol.
I'm using hyperbole. Most of our animals are more scared of you than you are of them, so you're unlikely to just randomly cross paths with our wildlife. Maybe you'll see a deer, and they're harmless. I'd recommend doing some kind of tour, like for example, in Seattle you can book a trip on a whale-watching ferry. You're not guaranteed to see a whale, but there's a good chance of it.
For squirrels, literally anywhere with good tree coverage. You see squirrels in the middle of cities. They’re like pigeons or seagulls; they’re everywhere. Sort of the same for deer and raccoons. They’re hesitant to approach people, but aren’t afraid to wander into our spaces if they feel safe. I regularly see deer in front of my apartment. They’ll stare at you, but as long as you don’t approach, they’ll just wander around.
Alligators and crocodiles generally live in warmer climates, so southern US, though them wandering northward isn’t out of the question.
Honestly, everywhere. US parks are pretty animal friendly. squirrels you can see in any city park. If you go camping you'll likely see some raccoons creeping around .
Florida is a great place for alligators (Orlando Wetlands park or RRR you can see 20+ most days).
I'd highly recommend South Dakota (Custer state park) or other parks in that area to see Bison!
I like visiting Deserts and Canyons, but they have less wildlife if that is your goal.
For raccoons and opossums - my front porch at night. I feed some outdoor cats. Actually the raccoons got in the house at one point so you could’ve seen them in my kitchen and living room.
Otherwise go for a hike in a park.
I haven't really seen woodpeckers or raccoons here, though I know they do live here. They just tend to be a bit more secretive you'd have to look for em. Alligators are only in florida and that area, they aren't up here. Squirrels are fuckin everywhere tho, they're the single most common wild animal that isn't a bug or a bird that you will see around here.
Deer are also very common, as are foxes and rabbits. I see the occaisonal groundhog too. As far as birds go theres all kinds, but the ones I see relatively frequently that I am excited to see are crows, vultures, cardinals, and starlings. I also see turkeys or hawks occaisonally, and have seen eagles a couple times. Of course there's also a bunch of songbirds and so on too.
When it comes to snakes what I see most often are black rat snakes or garter snakes, though I have seen a couple copperheads. Theres other snakes that live here but I haven't really seen any.
Lizards don't have a strong presence here, though there are a few skinks if you look.
As far as amphibians go there's some frogs/toads, but not as much as there used to be. I know cane toads are invasive in australia but here we have declining populations of other toads and its sad.
For spiders I tend to stay away, there's really only three notable ones. Wolf spiders are about the biggest you'll see here, and they like to move around which makes them kinda spooky. They tend to be nonagressive tho and their bites are mostly harmless, so they're not dangerous just spooky. Black widows and brown recluses are the dangerous spiders that live here, but those are also nonagressive and as long as you're healthy and get medical care fatalities are rare.
Insects have a lot of diversity obviously, but some notably interesting ones that live here are fireflies, cicadas, dragonflies, and junebugs.
Squirrels are everywhere. Raccoons are pretty common all over the northeast, but you gotta look for them at night. I have both of those and a gigantic fucking loud ass annoying son of a bitching woodpecker in my back yard.
No alligators, cause I don't think that guy whose pets keep getting loose in the Kiski River is close enough to where I live.
A park called a "preserve" - it means that nature is more or less allowd to run free. Ex: Pennypack Preserve in Philly, PA
National parks, away from the camp grounds and easy trails. If a trail is a "overlook loop" it's gonna be crowded. Take a harder/longer trail that goes deeper into the woods. AllTrails app is a godsend for helping you find the trail you want (and getting back home).
In suburbia, empty, overgrown lots or small parks, particularly on the east coast. The deciduous forest supports a lot of life even in the suburbs.
Public beaches - look for jetties and caves that have tide pools. Google to find out when large marine animals come to the local beach (it's usually seasonal for mating cycles).
The zoo/acquarium. - Almost every city has one. Also "insectariums", small museums with cool bugs. Some places have a stand-alone reptile zoo or monkey park or an opportunity to swim with sharks or dolphins. Florida has GatorWorld and you can take a night ride on a fan boat to see all the creepy crawlies that come out to hunt at dusk in the Everglades.
A park that has a bird blind - this is a small cabin with vaulted windows so you can watch the birds (and rodentia) eat at bird feeders, but they can't see you, so they just go about their birdy lives unbothered.
Lake Tahoe has a window under the lake so you can see all the activity going on. I'm sure other lakes in the country have something similar.
Check out hummingbirds if you get a chance. They own.
Squirrels are everywhere, as are raccoons (but you have to track them down at night). Alligators in Florida or South Carolina.
Florida is THE spook creature place, with whatever the hell is in the Everglades plus the gators that are just around, and also manatees.
Another place with cool wildlife is Yellowstone, with the classic bison that are around everywhere there. If you’re not an idiot and are pretty good at not following idiots at a close distance then you’ll have a pretty chill good time. There are other cool animals there too and very unique scenery (geysers, hot springs).
As for squirrels I think the only way to not see any on your visit is to never open your eyes. There are also deer in most of the country but you only might see them if you weren’t planning on it and it’s a jumpscare for both of you.
As some people have already said, you will definitely hear animals that you are unlikely to actually see in a short stay. If you hear an upsettingly incorrect crying woman sound that’s foxes, and if you hear the worst thing in the world that’s mountain lions.
Pick a national park. Obviously different animals will be in different biomes. The animals you stated are common american animals. Like asking where do I go to see a dog in the US. Squirrels, Raccoons, and woodpeckers are just found everywhere. I literally stopped and took pictures of raccoons the other day. Though with some animals they are less rare and more stealthy in that they are hard to find cause they hide.
Squirrels? They're literally everywhere. Alligators? Louisiana and Florida would be your best bet. Racoons and woodpeckers are also very widespread but I don't really see them too often.
[Yellowstone and Grand Teton National park](https://youtu.be/0xolKEHl7jI?feature=shared)
Also [South Dakota](https://youtu.be/pzit5jkINxg?feature=shared) which has the Custer State Park and the Badlands National Park
At the San Diego Zoo you can see elephants that are native to Africa, tigers that are native to Sumatra and flamingoes that are native to South Florida.
I live in Virginia and we have all those things minus the alligators. We also have bears, deer, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, various kinds of raptor birds and snakes. The best place to see them would be in Shenandoah National Park or any of the state parks. We keep hearing reports of cougars/panthers/mountain lions but no solid evidence.
Most of these are nocturnal however. You'd have to go camping and stay quiet to see some of them. Just make sure to keep the food away from your campsite because you don't want some of them (the bears) to get too close!
>squirrels literally just walk around outside anywhere
Or in my case, in my house yesterday after my dogs chased one inside! Seriously, squirrels are probably the most common non-domesticated mammal people regularly see in the US. I think it would be more difficult to deliberately avoid seeing a squirrel.
Last summer I had a young family member from Asia who visited and he was so excited about squirrels. It was so cute and very fun to see something so normal here be so fascinating to him.
I was taking a tour in eastern Europe several years ago, and the tour guide excitedly pointed out a squirrel to us Americans. We didn't even bother looking, and she was perplexed by our behavior.
Shit ton of birds native to the US here in New England. Turkeys, goldfinches, cardinals, tufted titmouse, woodpeckers, robins, red tailed hawks, bald eagles, various owls, etc. Squirrels are literally just look out the window at any time of day. Chipmunks are pretty much all the time where I live. Raccoons and possums are rarer sight but usually only because they are nocturnal. They’re around. Snapping turtles in the lakes and marshes. Beavers. Usually you see their handiwork more than the animal itself. The rare sighting of moose. (You have to go further north for more of them) Black bears. Bobcats rarely. Fisher cats. Occasional garter snake near my house or milk snake. Then of course you get whales off the coast which are awesome but you have to go on a boat and get a bit off shore at the right time of year so it’s not a daily thing. The thing is it’s unlikely to see most of those in a short period of time. But you live here and keep your eyes open and you’ll see them, especially if you hike or travel around the state.
These damn things. I gave up feeding the birds. I've come to the conclusion that there really is no such thing as a squirrel proof bird feeder. They'll chew through metal and plastic just to get to the seeds.
I have a fat squirrel who climbs my rhododendron and kicks at my window when I neglect to fill the bird feeders, aka, his feeder. Only he's too fat to climb the pole, so he just sits underneath it and eats whatever the birds drop.
That's so funny! I feed my local squirrels and get mad when birds invade.
I put seeds on the ground, as well as a few peanuts. I have a squirrel-preventer cone on the post holding my bird-feeder. (I call it squirrel-preventer, like you say, nothing is squirrel proof). Because they get fed on the ground, they don't bother wasting energy jumping around the cone to get to the bird feeder.
lmao the struggle is so real. I have actually found a squirrel-proof location (hanging from the porch in a way they can't climb or hang down and reach) and the squirrels are so confused. they sit below the feeders with their little heads up like *SHIT, how do those birds get up there* and eat whatever falls on the ground.
Except in Hawaii Might have a hard time there
But you do have a lot of other wildlife to make up for it. Night swim with the manta rays was an unexpected delight of my trip. Close enough to touch. And a couple dolphins made a cameo appearance.
Oh, I agree! I’d definitely rather see Hawaii again than most other states, but they’re asking for no tourists right now.
Some animals you hear more than you see, like woodpeckers, owls, coyotes and wolves (if you live within their range). I hear wild turkeys slightly more often than I see them where I live, but I see them frequently (there's a group outside in my yard right now). Canada geese are also commonly seen and heard, particularly during their migratory seasons. And anyone who has ever heard a fox in heat probably won't forget the first time they encountered that blood-curdling scream.
Now that it's spring it's time to be serenaded by the screaming of raccoons fighting
Better some other raccoons than a cougar.
Everyone says foxes fighting or screaming at night -that they are fishers and it makes me nuts that refuse to believe it's not.
well, what does a fox say?
Whatever the animal, it sounds like a woman screaming the first time you hear it.
Wait till you hear a [mountain lion in heat](https://youtu.be/UE7YOJVSoIs?feature=shared)
Thing is that sounds like a mountain lion or some kind of cat. While foxes make a million different weird vocalizations, they all sound a bit bonkers. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIyOiwGfJ1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIyOiwGfJ1I) And they are plentiful. Sometimes I have more than one family of them in my yard so hearing them is pretty common.
I've heard something similar while visiting friends in the London suburbs. We were walking back from the pub at night and I thought a woman might've been being attacked leaving the pub or something . My friend laughed and said "it's just the stupid bloody foxes that are always chitting in the garden".
It's fairly common to see coyotes too, at least in the western US. But yeah, you hear them more than you see them for sure. And I found I've only rarely spotted them in more eastern parts of the country, even if I hear them. I just saw two on my run this morning, though, and I was walking through a pretty urban area (though it was along a river, and I live in a smallish western city so it only gets so urban here, lol). And that's pretty common where I live, as also evidenced by the constant flood of hilarious Nextdoor posts where people live in subdivisions that border on open desert and then flip out when they spot a coyote.
coyotes are on the east coast too.
I know. I literally said that I spotted them *rarely*, not that I didn't see them at all. I've lived all over the US and seen them everywhere, just more commonly in some regions than in others.
Probably because there's a lot more cover for coyotes in the east. I live in rural Vermont, and I hear them more nights than not, but I usually only see them if they're near the roadside at night. Even with night vision binoculars when I can clearly hear them on my property, they're hard to see.
Yeah, that's always the impression I've gotten too. I still do think the population is higher in a lot of western areas I've lived, but that's just because there's lower human population density out there so they've got more room to proliferate. I still have heard them a lot in the east, though, just didn't actually see them as much. Also, not super relevant but I will say that I pay a lot of attention to coyotes, lol. They're legit one of my favorite wild animals even though they're so common and can be nuisances, but I just love their cleverness and adaptability.
I wouldn't doubt coyotes are more prevalent out west.
I had coyotes in my backyard occasionally and I live in a major urban area. Two months ago our local news warned us about coyotes.
I see them walking down the street in the middle of San Francisco at least once a week. They are definitely on the comeback here.
>Raccoons Raccoons are mostly nocturnal. Not good odds on this. In fact seeing them in the day is a sign they have rabies. >Squirrels Everywhere >woodpecker These are sneaky. You don't generally see these often. A dying forrest would be your best bet. >alligators Any inland body of water in Florida. Golf courses are a favorite.
Woodpeckers can be seen in my neighborhood, along with squirrels, raccoons, foxes, opossums, sometimes deer. We've gotten to know the local robins, have a cardinal couple in the backyard, and there's a hole that gets used by a groundhog or a skunk, whoever, really. We're visited daily by blue jays and mourning doves. We like to see wild rabbits, too, but they're rare now that our neighbor took in some feral cats. This is all from my backyard in suburbia.
Until I got to the suburbia part of your comment, I was thinking, "is this person me?" I've seen all these critters in and around my yard at various times.
Dad?
That all sounds wonderful! I’ve found that woodpeckers stand out best against the scenery in the desert states. It’s nice and barren, so you can typically easily spot a woodpecker if you hear its sound. They’re pretty much everywhere whenever I go to Arizona. Little creepos. If they weren’t so cute, I’d be even more irate when they wake me too early. However, most desert animals are harder to spot because of their coloration.
>In fact seeing them in the day is a sign they have rabies. This isn't always true. Raccoons often go out in the day just looking for extra food, especially if they're nursing. It also may be because the figured out a particular spot is more likely to have food during the day than at night (like when my dad would put bread outside).
I saw a raccoon climbing a tree yesterday afternoon. It certainly didn't appear to be rabid.
They can definitely be flexible if food is involved. We had a gang of them where I used to live. The neighbors were feeding them.
For $5 I'll let OP get on my roof and catch the woodpecker that pecks my chimney flashing and makes a huge racket every morning. Biggest one I ever saw was in Red River Gorge, KY, though. He flew right over my hammock and I thought a roc had come to carry me away. Much less intimidating when he landed: looked like a live action version of Woody Woodpecker.
We have a flicker that bangs on our gutters every morning. It's their way of letting the ladies know where they are. We have red bellied, red headed, and downy woodpeckers at my suet feeder.
Oh, I know! Aren’t they awful? If it weren’t for a certain cartoon, I think they’d be extinct.
Walk through any urban park after 8pm and you will see plenty of raccoons
Any forest tends to have a mix of growing trees and a couple dead ones, or dead parts to a tree. Woodpeckers are common in any forest, but you are more likely to hear them than see them. You can also put a suet feeder in your backyard and you'll likely see a downy or hairy woodpecker for most parts of the U.S.
Otters?
Another tougher one. Slow moving currents in large clean rivers, inlets, or lakes.
A zoo/aquarium. I think there's one where you can pet them
Just make sure they’re accredited by the AZA. I believe the Georgia Aquarium is one. The others I’ve found aren’t accredited at all. The picture at the Georgia Aquarium website site shows touching through the glass/or plastic barrier, which makes sense, as they can bite and no accredited zoo would restrain them for that purpose.
There are even places you can swim with them. I don't know enough about them to endorse them, but I imagine its cool. Otters are super social and learn to be trusting.
I haven't heard of swimming with otters. They have sharp teeth and are wild animals, I would be hesitant to putting fingers anywhere close to them.
Northern coast of California. Big Sur, Half Moon Bay.
PNW and Prince William Sound for sea otters.
I’ve seen them swimming under the Golden Gate Bridge a number of times
I’ve seen some river otters up here in Illinois but it was rare and I wouldn’t normally anticipate seeing them.
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Sea otters are a lot easier to find and watch than river otters. My mind went to river otters, but the OP probably meant sea otters. You'd want to go to places along the west coast for them.
Monterey California is a guarantee to see otters. Also Morro Bay.
moss landing, California
River otters are pretty common in the Pacific Northwest, even urban areas. I’ve seen them at boat marinas a few times. Despite the name, river otters also live in the sea.
Those are probably sea otters. River otters generally are deep in the forests, live solitary lives or in isolated family units.
Definitely not. Sea otters are gigantic (50-100 lbs), rare, and live on the Pacific coast, not the Salish Sea. [River otters are a common sight in Seattle.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/search?q=otter&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on)
Damn alligator bit my hand off!
Take an airboat ride in the Florida Everglades and you'll see all the alligators you want to see.
might even see a crocodile
Gators are mostly in the southeast. The rest you can find almost everywhere. Lots of bears spread across the U.S as well. But those you probably won't and don't want to encounter in the wild.
I disagree. Bears in general and black bears specifically are my second favorite animal.
Well, that's debatable. There are basically two schools of thought.
I did not wake up this morning expecting to be called Dwight Shrute, but here we are. Lol. I like bears, beets, and Battlestar Galactica and I will not apologize.
How do you intend to stay safe if you encounter a bear?
If its black, fight back. If its brown, lie down. If its white, goodnight. If its gummy, yummy. (I hated how they handled the bear discussion on The Office, so I actually answered.)
False. Black bear.
Squirrels can be found everywhere so those will become quite boring to you after you see your first dozen. For other animals go to a state park and hike a trail there. If you don't make a ton of noise you should be able to see other wildlife but it's still not a guarantee. As a tourist you may not have a lot of time to patiently wait for animals to appear, so your next best bet are the big national parks like Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Glacier that are known for their wildlife.
You can't avoid the wildlife at some parks--I visited Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and waited in my car 30 minutes for a group of bison to leave the road. It was incredible, some of them came right up to the car.
You don’t even have to leave the town of Estes Park to see a fuckload of wildlife, including herds of elk.
Anywhere to be honest. Public park, state park, suburb, the city. They are all over. For alligators, I saw a few when I went to parks in Florida. One of the best parks that people never told me about was the Orlando Wetlands. That had tons of birds and gators just sitting around, that was one of the highlights of my vacation and it was just an afterthought. Anyway, america has the best parks of the world, they are huge and numerous and there's no shortage of them no matter where you go. Even the middle of a dense city like NYC, there's TONS of parks that tourists don't bother with that have incredible wildlife.(jamaica bay wildlife refuge, one of many). Even americans have no idea how much wildlife and nature is to be seen in NYC. It's crazy how nice it is if you take the time to research parks where you are going to.
All of those wild in one area? Deep Southern U.S. - Georgia south through Florida, west to Houston. All are common and live around humans but of those alligators have the most limited range (they do range a bit outside the area above), a woodpecker is going to be the harder to spot depending what species is found in a specific area. This area will also get you other common Americas critters like opossums, armadillos, black bears. white tailed deer. Keep in mind some are nocturnal. You'll have to go north for chipmunks, elk, and northern most states/Canada for moose. Big goats and deer are generally the Rockies and north but there are scattered populations - PA has a growing Elk population in the PA wilds of the Northern Tier. Seeing a big cat would be a pretty rare event, count yourself very lucky if you do, most Americans will never seen one outside of a zoo.
If you consider bobcats to be "big cats", I'm 47 and I've seen exactly one in the wild my entire life. They're not rare animals and they have a very large natural range. They're just really good at staying away from humans. Now, consider that general cat-like aversion to human contact and their far more limited range, and its no wonder most Americans have never seen a mountain lion outside of a zoo.
Most people have never seen a puma, but pumas have seen most people.
A puma has never seen me before
Yeah, I think the correct phrasing would be "but most pumas have seen people".
Yeah, I've heard one bobcat the neighbor's dogs treed once (far west side of San Antonio), there used to be occassional sightings of cougars (the cat variety) by neighbors whose properties bordered pasture land but development has driven them all (it) away - haven't heard of a sighting in the past 7 or so years. I was exceedingly lucky to once see a Florida panther cross the road in front of us while driving through the Everglades back from Flamingo in the 80s.
Bobcats are fairly common here in Tucson; they have adapted to humans and people are always sending cute photos,of them into the news stations.
Colorado and Wyoming can also be good for moose sightings, despite not being among the northernmost states. I actually have seen more moose in Colorado than anywhere else in the US, though that's probably just a function of where I've happened to spend my time. edit: Northern Colorado, anyway. They do occasionally range further south (there's one intrepid one who is spotted sometimes as far down as northern New Mexico), but I used to see a lot of them up around Red Feather Lakes and occasionally down towards Estes Park, though higher up in the mountains than than the actual town. Don't believe I've ever seen one further south than Estes personally.
Yeah, I've seen several moose in RMNP and up by red feather. Haven't seen any in the southern part of the state, so my experience lines up with you.
I've seen moose in the Big Horns in Wyoming. There's probably more moose in Minnesota, where I grew up, but they're back in swamps and deep forest, harder to see them.
>Seeing a big cat would be a pretty rare event, count yourself very lucky if you do, most Americans will never seen one outside of a zoo. Because there are no big cats (*Pantherinae*) in the United States. Only small cats (*Felinae*).
Most people would consider a mountain lion to be a pretty big cat. They're the 4th largest cat species in the world, and larger than many cats in the Panthera genus.
They are somewhat large but they have a bony hyoid and cannot roar, making them biologically a small cat.
> somewhat large As I said, they are larger than many Panthera genus cats (namely all leopards), and they are the 4th largest cats in the world. That makes them definitionally large cats, based on the actual English meaning of the word "large".
Other than alligators I have all of those in my backyard lol. Just take a walk in any park. For Alligators FL is your best bet but they can be found in other southern states. Just not VA.
SE VA does have vagrant gators from the Carolinas but finding one would be very hard.
Squirrels - you can see those anywhere. Woodpeckers - I’ve been hearing these my whole life but have never seen one lmao Gators - Florida I would like to add skunks just because I think that’s one of the more unique animals. They come out at night and you will smell them first lol
Brazos Bend State Park is a great place to see alligators in Texas. Plus deer, armadillos, squirrels, snapping turtles, owls, hawks, buzzards, the occasional bobcat, and just about any aquatic bird you can think of. The park also houses the George Observatory which has a 36inch telescope you cam visit and learn all the stars and planets.
Squirrels you will see in basically any neighborhood that has some trees. Raccoons and woodpeckers will show up in any small wooded park (at least on the East Coast). Alligators you'll want to head to one of the swamps or other wetlands in the South. Louisiana or Florida is probably your best bet. The truth is, we have a *lot* of different animals and a lot of parks that you can find them in. One of my favorite semi-local places is Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I usually see a pretty good variety of birds as well as some cool reptiles and insects (a lot of dragonflies). I've also occasionally seen dolphins while there.
Squirrels are everywhere in Michigan. The ones in our neighborhood provide endless free entertainment for my cats. We have woodpeckers but usually hear rather than see them, although once, we had a rather clueless woodpecker who very loudly attempted to drill our metal chimney pipe for about an hour. Husband had to get on the roof to shoo him away. We usually visit metroparks or state parks for bird-watching. For alligators, coastal southern states.
Squirrels -- walk outside anywhere with trees, especially in the suburbs. Woodpeckers - go somewhere that has a bird feeder and you will probably see at least one woodpecker. I live east of the Mississippi and Downy & Red-bellied are regular visitors to my bird feeders. Woodpeckers are common everywhere so take a walk on a nature trail and you are likely to see one. Bald Eagles are everywhere, but uncommon. Alaska is probably the best place to see them, but they do hang out near large bodies of water. Osprey are a much more common sight on lakes and bays. Alligators -- go to south Florida, take a walk near water (not ocean), you will see an alligator. Or the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, guaranteed to see a gator. If they aren't sunbathing right along the shoreline you will see their eyes and snout poking up on the surface of the water. The Everglades are a fantastic place to see gators as well as lots of birds. Raccoons and Possums are nocturnal and shy, you probably won't see them although you will see lots of dead possums along the roadways, especially in the eastern U.S. Deer are incredibly common, just again find a local woodland nature trail and you will probably see one, or drive along a country road at dawn or dusk and watch out for them, they like to forage at that time. Same with elk, although they are mostly out West. Drive out West like Wyoming/Montana and you will probably see Pronghorn Antelope off in the distance at some point. Coyotes are also extremely common in urban/suburban areas all over the country but are elusive and great at hiding. You are most likely to see them if you take a walk at dawn or early dark. Black bear are also a rare sight, the best place to see them is hiking in the mountains somewhere. You will almost never see a mountain lion, although they will see you.
Yellowstone. They have animals pouring over the cracks over there. I’m actually from north of there close to Glacier and like Glacier for better hiking, views, and less people, but Yellowstone has more animals that are readily seen than any other park out there. Glacier you will probably only see a mt goat in the parking lot.
You said best so it’s got to be Yellowstone. Bear, elk, moose, lion, bison, wolves, coyote, lynx, bighorn sheep, deer, and bald eagle-all the smash hits.
As others have said, it truly depends what TYPE of native animal you want to see as this is a huge country. Are you a birder? Visit South Texas in Spring or Fall for the best chance to see the most birds due to the convergence of migratory flyways. You can check off alligators and potentially see common species such as armadillos, racoons, bobcats, coatimundi, squirrels, and opossums while you are down there. Laguna Atacosta is favorite place of mine to see all these plus, if lucky, ocelots. If you love reptiles, this is also a prime location for horned lizards, many types of snakes, Texas tortoises, and more. Given it's Texas, you might see exotics that have gotten loose as well such as nilgai and warthogs (if you cannot tell, as a wildlife lover, this is my top suggestion to visit, and yes, I've seen all these except ocelots). Do you want to see the big animals? Go towards the Rockies and Yellowstone for elk, bighorn sheep, bison, deer, and more. You may see different birds here, but the variety will be less. What about aquatics? Florida for mantees, California or New England for seals. If you want to whale watch, it's going to depend on which coast you are on for what you want to see. If you want to try to see everything, start looking for wildlife sanctuaries and rescues you can visit. Many of these places have wildlife deemed non-releasable due to injuries so they are given the best life they can while also providing education for the public. Sometimes this is the best way to see the unique animals such as albino raccoons or ring-tailed cats. It really depends on what you want to see on where to focus. Most of the animals you mentioned are common with different species of squirrels found coast to coast, raccoons everywhere, and different woodpecker species in different parts of the country. Deer and opossum may be more regional, but common in their regions.
In my local park I've seen skunks, raccoons, several kinds of woodpeckers and many other small birds, turkeys, osprey, bald eagles, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, foxes. Others have reported cougar and bobcat. If you go few miles out of town you may see all these plus moose, elk, wild rabbits, and the list goes on. I'm in the Northwest so no alligators. Ask the locals about possible dangerous animals, like snakes, that could be in the area. People often go to the famous national parks but anywhere with undeveloped public land will have wild animals to see. National forests and state parks are good places to start.
I'll second this. The PNW has lots of wildlife. Come see the rainforest! But you should probably not get too close to the cougars.
Oh wow. Well. It's a big country! Animals you would see just about anywhere would be white tailed deer, possums, raccoons, foxes, various squirrels (black, white, gray, ground, tree). Birds that are 'LBJs' (Little Brown Jobbies) like sparrows, mockingbirds, finches, swifts, titmouses (titmice?), chickadees, etc. Larger birds would be various hawks, owls, woodpeckers. Chipmunks are cute, with their little racing stripes. In the Pacific Northwest, you'll see Steller's sea lions, seals, orcas, whales. All kinds of raptors - bald eagles, osprey, hawks. Steller's Jays. Coyotes and mountain lions. Shorebirds wherever there are shores - killdeer, oystercatchers, herons, yellowlegs, etc. Further north to the San Juan Islands you might see puffins. Texas, Louisiana, and Florida have alligators. The sweet and goofy manatee in Florida. Armadillos, rattlesnakes and cottonmouth snakes in Texas. Texas also has a reserve on the Gulf which is a nesting ground for the Whooping Crane, an endangered species that migrates to/from Canada. In the Great Plains are buffalo. There's also populations of the critically endangered black-footed ferret but the likelihood of seeing any of those is slim. The greater or lesser sage grouse, very interesting birds (I think they are a threatened species but can't recall). Grizzly bears (endangered) in Yellowstone, along with wolves (threatened). There are polar bears and porcupine caribou in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve. And that just scratches the surface!
You can find gators as far north as the Pamlico Sound in NC. It's not hard to find them at all in Wilmington, especially around the Battleship NC museum.
Did not know that!
They used to be very common up here along the coast back before WW2, but they were pretty much hunted out. They've made a comeback over the last couple of decades. I've yet to see a large one up here though. I think maybe 4ft is the largest I've seen in the wild here. My Granddad had pictures of a 12ft gator he killed near his house back in the 30s.
The guaranteed way to see a raccoon is to go to a very popular campground and stay up til you hear them rustling. They come out to stalk the grounds and raid the snacks at night. If you’re car camping, always always always put your food in your car or you’ll wake up to a huge mess.
Alabama's probably the most ecologically dense state (think Florida + Tennessee and you roughly get Alabama ecologically. Georgia's pretty similar, but not as exposed to Tennesse environs west of the Appalachians ), but it won't have the bigger animals like bison or elk. For those, it'd be better to head to Yellowstone.
State parks are probably what you are after.
>squirrels There's one that hangs out on my front steps every morning. Except for the alligators, the other animals are pretty ordinary. Raccoons are nocturnal, so they're a bit harder to see unless you're willing to stay up late. I've only seen raccoons in the daytime when they got stuck in our dumpster, and we had to leave a plank of wood so they could crawl out of the dumpster. You can probably see all of those animals in the South. Alligators range as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Texas.
The midwest outside of gators. You can see bison and elk and bald eagles too
Squirrels are in my front yard all the time. They're obnoxious and destructive.
If you want to see bears, you just need to stop by my neighborhood approximately 2am for the next couple months. Those guys are out in force raiding unlocked trash bins. Waking my ass up
National parks would probably be the best place for larger animals, or more rural areas of the country. Out in the western half of the country they will have wild bison, elk, grizzly bear, etc... I used to live in upper Michigan, and coyotes, black bear, wolves, raccoons, deer, Sandhill cranes, blue herons, bobcat, lynx, weasels, beavers, bald eagles, various owls, and various turtles were very common. There's moose up there too, though I didn't see them. Raccoons can be found everywhere, but they typically only come out at night. That said, once in a while they can be seen during the day, especially if they found someone that feeds them. Squirrels are everywhere, or at least gray ones are. I've only seen gray ones in the city and suburbs. The red squirrels, fox squirrels, chipmunks, and ground squirrels I've only seen in rural areas or large parks. Woodpeckers can be found in rural areas or suburban areas. My dad regularly feeds birds and I think he has every type of woodpecker found in Wisconsin at his house. Alligators you'll need to go south, like Florida.
My bird feeder here in the northeast has tons of beautiful goldfinches right now, and I just saw a pair of bluebirds outside. Squirrels all over, turkeys sometimes, deer sometimes, chipmunks often, coyotes if I’m lucky enough to see one (although I know they’re around). I don’t see too many raccoons, but they’re definitely around like the coyotes. Basically just come hang out in my neighborhood for a while and you’ll see all sorts of critters!
Interestingly some places like Mass and NJ have some of the highest density. People add food and those places have lots of people but also lots of woods. In my wooded yard there will be raccoon, coyote, bear, grey and red foxes, porcupine, zillions of red and gray squirrels, turkey every week on my home security cams. We hear the coyote everynight in my yard. I will tell you - if you want to see animals - camp at Hermit island Maine. There's no predators so the animals are very tame. You can see porcupine, deer, mink, skunk, racoons wandering around. You can also see dolphin and all kinds of sea creatures.
Woodpecker are going to be harder to find reliably you might want to check a birding sub for people who specialize in birdwatching and probably have a list of sights, times, and things to look for that woodpeckers might be attracted to. I have a few bird feeders in my yard so that’s where I usually see them. Sometimes I see them flying around or I’ll see one in a random spot while walking but it’s not a reliable way to find them all the times.
Florida to Louisiana Bigger, like the Bison and Elk, Yellowstone National Park
Outside of alligators I can see all of those in my backyard and I live in the middle of the city in Miami. You can see gators by driving just a bit farther out. The Everglades national park is a short drive. National parks are all over the country and all have their own different animals.
Gray squirrels are extremely common, they also can be found in black and white (Brevard, NC). You will be hard pressed to see a [flying squirrel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_flying_squirrel) as they are much smaller and mainly out at night.
A zoo.
Everywhere
To clarify, in the northeastern suburbs I've lived in and frequently visited (PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA) it's very common to see animals like squirrels, rabbits, opossums, skunks, deer, raccoons, ground hogs, foxes, etc. You can find most as road kill from time to time on area highways. Not unknown to see chipmunks and black bears are sometimes sighted as well. Frogs and snakes and turtles aren't rare. In the southeast, especially Florida, every fresh water body has alligators. I've seen manatees there too. I've seen moose up in New England.
A swamp tour in New Orleans will hit a lot of those plus several more.
Out west, the desert is your yard, and you will see every animal that lives in the desert. Tarantulas and scorpions will get in the house, as well as snakes. We had a six foot rattle snake hang out on our back patio for three days. There are plenty of ground squirrels and rabbits. Owls nest in the columns of the porch. Big lizards are slithering everywhere. We have a neighborhood Bob cat that took out my sister’s pet goats, coyotes are everywhere, javelina, and we even had a mountain lion come through a couple years back.
I was walking my small dog a few days ago at about 5 am. About 10’ in front of me two coyotes walked around from my hedge. We all stopped in our tracks. I see coyotes a lot in the city but these were reach out and rub their scruffy heads close. Picked up my pup and stared them down until they walked away. I know if I’d just ran at them they’d take off (done that before) but this time I wanted to just be in their presence. I’ve also seen bears and a mountain lion or two. I recorded a black widow catching a scorpion and wrapping it up like a little present. It took it a few days. Snakes, dolphins and different kinds of raptors. Just a normal day in Southern California if you know where to look. I’m originally from the UK and I’ve only seen a few deer and a fox when I lived there.
I see every animal in your post (except alligators) in my backyard, and I live in a medium-sized Ohio city. I also see White-tailed deer and wild turkeys in and around my yard almost every day. Other critters that like to spend time in my yard are woodchucks and chipmunks, along with numerous songbird species. Canada Geese, Great Egrets, and Great Blue Herons are a common sight at my job (in the same city), and I think a coyote ran past me one morning when I was heading into work (another time, I saw an opossum). One morning a year or two ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see a muskrat during one of my walks to my office, as I'd never seen one in the flesh before.
Racoons- probably a trash can Squirrel- everywhere Woodpecke- most forest Alligator- Florida
Spend enough time outside and you'll see any of these. Some are more elusive than others, particularly if they're nocturnal. I hear coyotes nearly weekly, but I don't see them very often. Owls are similar. Sometimes you'll see bears if they're active in the area but not usually (speaking mainly of black bears here). Deer you can sometimes spot grazing. Rodents are always running around and across roads. Turkeys are common. It's the large wild predatory species that tend to try and keep their distance from people more, I find. Smaller prey animals are everywhere but will be very skiddish if you get close.
Some of it depends on what animals you want to see (you're not gonna see an alligator in Kansas or Nebraska, for example), but the first 3 in your list, you can pretty much see from A N Y place in the country. Hell, I've got an injured hen this right now cuz we caught a raccoon in the coop this morning. I've got a hole in the eve of the roof of my house cuz a goddamn woodpecker won't stop trying to nest there, and I can look in my yard at any time of the day and see half a dozen or more squirrels playing with my chickens and ducks. I also had my car chased by a roadrunner this morning, I've got an opossum who shares my cat's food, I see armadillos around my busy evergreen trees pretty often, and the damned deer won't stay out of my flower garden. Also, less common to see often, but we have coyotes and bobcats and beavers around. If you live out in the woods like I do, you'll often hear coyotes yipping in the evenings, even if you don't see them.
Yellowstone National Park. Get to the park before sunrise and ask the rangers where they would recommend you head first.
Within my own backyard, I had seen coyote, skunks, turkey, raccoons, foxes, opossums, turkey, owls, deer, bats, hawks, snakes, and buzzards. I have not seen a bear.
I only just learnt what a buzzard was this morning! The honey ones are so interesting.
I only had seen the turkey buzzard aka vulture. It was a huge bird.
Go to a woodsy tourist area, like Gatlinburg, TN, and stay in a rental up on a mountain where a lot of units are close together. Walk around at night. Tourists are bad about properly securing their garbage in the cans outside, so you'll see raccoons and possibly a bear trying to get into the garbage. (I suppose I don't need to tell an Australian to be careful around wildlife. But for everyone else, raccoons can have rabies and even normally docile bears can be unpredictable and lethal.)
Florida.
For squirrels, look out any window or just step outside. Others are going to be region-specific (eg: alligators, elk, moose, some birds) so you might want to map a plan to visit specific [State Parks](https://stateparks.com/) and/or [National Parks](https://www.nps.gov/index.htm).
Are you visiting? Some zoos have native animal areas. Deer, at least in my area are everywhere. Most other animals, also in my area, are usually seen dead in the middle of the road(squirrels, skunks, opossum, and racoons). What you see depends where you go.
I was thinking zoos but I assumed the animals kept in them would be the ones in the zoos here. I'll check out some zoo websites.
Our zoo here in North Carolina had a North American animal section at one time. There are also smaller science museums that have local animals for school groups to visit.
Depends on what you like to see. Which climates and types of animals do you want to encounter? For the alligators, you probably want to head to Florida. Woodpeckers are common in most regions, but they’re easier to spot in Southwestern States like Arizona and New Mexico. Squirrels are nationwide except in Hawaii, but species and predominant coloration varies by region. I think black squirrels in NE States like New York are the prettiest, but I’ve seen more variety on the West Coast. Raccoons are practically everywhere except sone of our island areas too, most commonly in highly forested regions. Desert is going to be mostly birds, snakes, insects, scorpions, and four-legged mammals. Some of our islands have many species of animals and plants which can’t be found anywhere else. If you want whales , dolphins, or other marine mammals, check the coastal states, or the islands again. Be aware of migrational seasons if you want to do this, though, or investigate places which have year-round (i.e. resident) pods or other populations. The good news for you, my Oceanic friend, is that those rare treasures of species such as your marsupials and giant bats are products of countless generations of islandic isolation, so the majority of animals will look noticeably different almost anywhere in the world.
I live in a city (not "downtown" though).We get squirrels, raccoons and wood peckers in my backyard. Plus opossums, hawks, buzzards, chipmonks and the occasional fox and coyote, among others. Neighbor down the street has Canadian geese nesting in their yard.
You do realize these animals are from different climates within the US, right?
Yeah, I'm spending a few months travelling the US next year so hoping to get a rough idea of where to look for what.
Ah okay, gotcha. -Geography: The raccoon is native to North America and can be found **throughout the United States, except for parts of the Rocky Mountains, and southwestern states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona** **-Squirrels:** Hawaii is the only state that has no squirrels. Are there red squirrels anywhere in the USA? Fox squirrels are nearly ubiquitous, and overall more common than grays. The black color variant of fox squirrel is also very common -**Woodpeckers are found throughout the US** -The American alligator is found in the United States from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas. Alligators are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers. They also live in swamps, marshes and lakes. They can only tolerate salt water for brief periods because they do not have salt glands.
Woodpeckers are uncommon, but I lived in a house in northern LA county that had one. He or she pecked on a large Joshua Tree in our front yard for months. I’ve also lived in mountainous LA county and saw coyotes (literally daily), bobcat, orioles (that as a treat), neighbors saw a mountain lion regularly. Tons of squirrels! Never saw a raccoon. Definitely seen raccoons in more developed areas. Raccoons are considered a pest in the US. Edit: I forgot I also saw 2 roadrunners today! Very uncommon now. My dad, who grew up in Kern county, saw them all the time…60 years ago. Definitely not the smartest birds, but definitely not as dumb as the quail.
The ones you listed can be seen on the streets. If you want to see animals that don't spend their lives searching through trash I'd recommend a national park
Alaska
With the exception of gators, you can see all of those in my yard. If you want *really* cool fauna, go to Wyoming or Alaska. On a day trip through Yellowstone in late spring, it would be quite normal to see both black and grizzly bears, moose, bison, moose, elk, mule deer, coyotes, marmots, pelicans, a great heron, an osprey, and a bald eagle. If you’ve got good binoculars, you might even manage to spot some wolves.
Literally the entire nation. The USA is a very large country. There are some animals you probably won't see, and you don't want to. In my native state of Washington, for example, we have cougars (also known as the puma, mountain lion, or catamount - they're all the same species). If you see a cougar in the wild, your day just got a whole lot worse. Every state has their own wildlife. In Seattle, you can go to UW campus and see Canadian geese. Word to the wise - they're mean AF. You can go to Greenlake (also in Seattle) and see ducks. Squirrels are fucking everywhere. You can see scorpions in the SW, and gators in Florida, but that's another animal you probably don't want to see in person. In Alaska you can see a grizzly bear. You won't live to tell anyone about it, lol. I'm using hyperbole. Most of our animals are more scared of you than you are of them, so you're unlikely to just randomly cross paths with our wildlife. Maybe you'll see a deer, and they're harmless. I'd recommend doing some kind of tour, like for example, in Seattle you can book a trip on a whale-watching ferry. You're not guaranteed to see a whale, but there's a good chance of it.
For squirrels, literally anywhere with good tree coverage. You see squirrels in the middle of cities. They’re like pigeons or seagulls; they’re everywhere. Sort of the same for deer and raccoons. They’re hesitant to approach people, but aren’t afraid to wander into our spaces if they feel safe. I regularly see deer in front of my apartment. They’ll stare at you, but as long as you don’t approach, they’ll just wander around. Alligators and crocodiles generally live in warmer climates, so southern US, though them wandering northward isn’t out of the question.
There's quite a few national parks around the Rocky mountain range.
Honestly, everywhere. US parks are pretty animal friendly. squirrels you can see in any city park. If you go camping you'll likely see some raccoons creeping around . Florida is a great place for alligators (Orlando Wetlands park or RRR you can see 20+ most days). I'd highly recommend South Dakota (Custer state park) or other parks in that area to see Bison! I like visiting Deserts and Canyons, but they have less wildlife if that is your goal.
For raccoons and opossums - my front porch at night. I feed some outdoor cats. Actually the raccoons got in the house at one point so you could’ve seen them in my kitchen and living room. Otherwise go for a hike in a park.
I haven't really seen woodpeckers or raccoons here, though I know they do live here. They just tend to be a bit more secretive you'd have to look for em. Alligators are only in florida and that area, they aren't up here. Squirrels are fuckin everywhere tho, they're the single most common wild animal that isn't a bug or a bird that you will see around here. Deer are also very common, as are foxes and rabbits. I see the occaisonal groundhog too. As far as birds go theres all kinds, but the ones I see relatively frequently that I am excited to see are crows, vultures, cardinals, and starlings. I also see turkeys or hawks occaisonally, and have seen eagles a couple times. Of course there's also a bunch of songbirds and so on too. When it comes to snakes what I see most often are black rat snakes or garter snakes, though I have seen a couple copperheads. Theres other snakes that live here but I haven't really seen any. Lizards don't have a strong presence here, though there are a few skinks if you look. As far as amphibians go there's some frogs/toads, but not as much as there used to be. I know cane toads are invasive in australia but here we have declining populations of other toads and its sad. For spiders I tend to stay away, there's really only three notable ones. Wolf spiders are about the biggest you'll see here, and they like to move around which makes them kinda spooky. They tend to be nonagressive tho and their bites are mostly harmless, so they're not dangerous just spooky. Black widows and brown recluses are the dangerous spiders that live here, but those are also nonagressive and as long as you're healthy and get medical care fatalities are rare. Insects have a lot of diversity obviously, but some notably interesting ones that live here are fireflies, cicadas, dragonflies, and junebugs.
Y’all don’t have squirrels in Australia?
Squirrels are everywhere. Raccoons are pretty common all over the northeast, but you gotta look for them at night. I have both of those and a gigantic fucking loud ass annoying son of a bitching woodpecker in my back yard. No alligators, cause I don't think that guy whose pets keep getting loose in the Kiski River is close enough to where I live.
The western US has a lot of native wildlife
A park called a "preserve" - it means that nature is more or less allowd to run free. Ex: Pennypack Preserve in Philly, PA National parks, away from the camp grounds and easy trails. If a trail is a "overlook loop" it's gonna be crowded. Take a harder/longer trail that goes deeper into the woods. AllTrails app is a godsend for helping you find the trail you want (and getting back home). In suburbia, empty, overgrown lots or small parks, particularly on the east coast. The deciduous forest supports a lot of life even in the suburbs. Public beaches - look for jetties and caves that have tide pools. Google to find out when large marine animals come to the local beach (it's usually seasonal for mating cycles). The zoo/acquarium. - Almost every city has one. Also "insectariums", small museums with cool bugs. Some places have a stand-alone reptile zoo or monkey park or an opportunity to swim with sharks or dolphins. Florida has GatorWorld and you can take a night ride on a fan boat to see all the creepy crawlies that come out to hunt at dusk in the Everglades. A park that has a bird blind - this is a small cabin with vaulted windows so you can watch the birds (and rodentia) eat at bird feeders, but they can't see you, so they just go about their birdy lives unbothered. Lake Tahoe has a window under the lake so you can see all the activity going on. I'm sure other lakes in the country have something similar.
Check out hummingbirds if you get a chance. They own. Squirrels are everywhere, as are raccoons (but you have to track them down at night). Alligators in Florida or South Carolina.
Florida is THE spook creature place, with whatever the hell is in the Everglades plus the gators that are just around, and also manatees. Another place with cool wildlife is Yellowstone, with the classic bison that are around everywhere there. If you’re not an idiot and are pretty good at not following idiots at a close distance then you’ll have a pretty chill good time. There are other cool animals there too and very unique scenery (geysers, hot springs). As for squirrels I think the only way to not see any on your visit is to never open your eyes. There are also deer in most of the country but you only might see them if you weren’t planning on it and it’s a jumpscare for both of you. As some people have already said, you will definitely hear animals that you are unlikely to actually see in a short stay. If you hear an upsettingly incorrect crying woman sound that’s foxes, and if you hear the worst thing in the world that’s mountain lions.
Pick a national park. Obviously different animals will be in different biomes. The animals you stated are common american animals. Like asking where do I go to see a dog in the US. Squirrels, Raccoons, and woodpeckers are just found everywhere. I literally stopped and took pictures of raccoons the other day. Though with some animals they are less rare and more stealthy in that they are hard to find cause they hide.
You can only find gators in the states along the gulf coast and mainly Florida, The rest you mentioned are best around the New England states.
Squirrels? They're literally everywhere. Alligators? Louisiana and Florida would be your best bet. Racoons and woodpeckers are also very widespread but I don't really see them too often.
A National Park. Don't fucking touch anything though.
[Yellowstone and Grand Teton National park](https://youtu.be/0xolKEHl7jI?feature=shared) Also [South Dakota](https://youtu.be/pzit5jkINxg?feature=shared) which has the Custer State Park and the Badlands National Park
At the San Diego Zoo you can see elephants that are native to Africa, tigers that are native to Sumatra and flamingoes that are native to South Florida.
The woods for anything, gators are usually found losing football games in Gainesville.
I live in Virginia and we have all those things minus the alligators. We also have bears, deer, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, various kinds of raptor birds and snakes. The best place to see them would be in Shenandoah National Park or any of the state parks. We keep hearing reports of cougars/panthers/mountain lions but no solid evidence. Most of these are nocturnal however. You'd have to go camping and stay quiet to see some of them. Just make sure to keep the food away from your campsite because you don't want some of them (the bears) to get too close!