#TTOT Round-Up: Wildlife Travel

Every Tuesday it's Travel Talk on Twitter! Follow the #TTOT tag to see what all the commotion and Tweets are about! There are two sessions to join, one at 9:30am GMT and the other at 9:30pm GMT.

Here's the round-up of this week's #TTOT: 

Q1 via MalloryOnTravel: Which animal would you most like to have an encounter with?

• GreenGlobalTrvl: Polar bears. Really wants to see them in the Arctic before the polar ice caps melt 
• RanchRider: Has to be a big 5 safari with the lion in Botswana!!!
  
• traveldudes: The gorillaz in Congo would be a highlight for me!
• carlitarocks: I'm still itching to kayak with the Orca's in San Juan, WA
• the10pangkat6: Grizzly bear, wanna hug that thing
• RainTravels: Next to pandas, I'd like to swim with the whalesharks
  
• raineenyte: I have too many... I'd love to see bengal tigers in the wild, an albino alligator in the wild, any coral reef diving encounters
• AcaciaAfrica: Going walking with these furry guys in Zimbabwe (see photo below)

© Rae Kokes and Acacia Africa

Q2 via kaypachatravels: What's the scariest animal encounter you've had?  

• john_oates: Saw man bitten by (non-venomous) cave racer snake in Borneo. It dug teeth in and wouldn't let go, quite a lot of blood  
• swanny_adel: Scariest & best: diving with Great Whites in South Australia
• Dru_Marland: A porpoise breaking surface next to my canoe in Cardigan Bay; me suddenly seeing this bloody great fin...
• nomadico: Swimming in a mountain lake as a kid, had a moose raise its head out of the water less than ten feet from where I was
• Dalmatiaturist: I was also once sleeping in a room full of scorpions. Which I found next day when the sun came up 
• Miss_Neriss: HUGE Centipedes crawling all over my camp after big rains at Uluru. Screamed like a horror movie victim 
• chandalier: Snake charmer in Tunisia pushing snakes in my face when I was clearly scared out of my wits
• gotapassport: Mama sea lion coming after me because I did a cartwheel too close to the baby sea lion.
• kirstyabrown: Leeches in the jungle in Laos were pretty scary - they got everywhere!!!
• AnnaLucyT: Me being bitten by a Lemur in Longleat zoo then taken to the vets!!!
• mahlatini: Charged at by a rhino in Kruger National in South Africa. Terrifying but exhilarating all at the same time

Q3 via marksmayo: Which 3 countries are best for wildlife travel & why?

• Travelbite: Costa Rica for the monkeys and sloths, SA for safaris, OZ for kangaroos and the Great Barrier Reef 
• missemalise: India for the tigers
• OysterWorldwide: Nepal (Elephant trekking), Tanzania (the Ngorongoro Crater, what's not to love!?) and South Africa (diving with sharks!)
• kirstyabrown: Peru (Llama), Galapagos Islands (enough said) and Argentina (steak...)  
• analopezct: Brazil, Botswana and Congo. I have no words to fairly describe it. JUST GO AND SEE!!
• tifany74: The USA for diversity - wild Alaska to the Florida beaches, Australia, African Safari 
• Black_Tomato: Tanzania is our favourite place for the Big 5. Sri Lanka and Indonesia are great wildlife spots too

Q4 via MalloryOnTravel: Where is the best place you can recommend for seeing wildlife naturally?

• Dalmatiaturist: Definitely African Savannah. Variety of animals in the open field. I think that's breathtaking 
• hjortur: Látrabjarg in the Westfjords - Europe's biggest bird cliff! Millions and millions of birds!
• RickGriffin:  It's hard to beat Alaska for seeing wildlife
• yuniyyy: Raja Ampat in Papua, Indonesia...it's a heaven for divers
• AlexPlim: Gallapo Islands, obviously. Apparently animals aren't scared of humans there because they are so well respected. Is this true? 
  
• NicoleWills2: One of my favorite places is right here in Cape Town! You can swim and spend the day with penguins at boulders beach!
• BSxox: Tanzania, Amazon Rain forest, Galapagos islands, Australia and of course South Africa (yes Im being bias towards SA)
• MMartijem: Fish Markets in Amazonas ... Some crazy fish!
• solangefrancois: Parismina, Costa Rica. Turtles!
  

Q5 via SustainableTrip Do you think "wildlife tourism" is good or bad for animals?

• liligo_uk: Not all tour operators who call themselves "eco" are that good, research to see if they help protect the wildlife
• gogirlonline: I think it's hard. In one way it promotes awareness, but also risks ruining their environment
• eurapart: Good to make lots of National Parks, but consider the indigenous population or it won't help
• Banff_Squirrel: People have to experience and appreciate nature to want to preserve it 
• BTravelB: Too many people involved in WT can cause exploitation. But, if too few are permitted then only the wealthy will enjoy them 
• Dalmatiaturist: They should limit the number of people visiting safaris or other places where animals reside. I think it's stressful
• traveldudes: The chances of doing it wrong are very high, but it's still possible and I think it's important to have wildlife tourism 
• travelettes: i think responsible wildlife tourism raises awareness on problems the animals have and hopefully some people feel inclined to help  
• mobilelawyer: Tourism and the money it brings is by far the best way to get the funds to save the animal kingdom (and more)

And there you have it, "Wildlife Travel"!

Next week's #TTOT topic is: "Modern Wonders of the World" submitted by insidetravellab. Submit your questions HERE! And don't forget to tune follow the #TTOT every Tuesday at 9:30am and 9:30pm GMT!

As always, a HUGE travel community thank you to our #TTOT hosts and organizers: traveldudes, roniweiss, toddwassel, traveldesigned, insidetravellab, WildJunket, tbloggersunite and mobilelawyer!

Have you got anything to add to the Wildlife Travel discussion? 

© Connie Hum 2011