[Rain Man]

For documentation purposes, I went with:

American bison - Yellowstone. I've also seen them from the car in Colorado.

For the record, I've seen enormous crocodiles in the wild in Australia, but not in North America, so I didn't click that box.

Black bear - Actually, I guess I can't count this. I was in two vehicles that almost hit bears (once very close) and saw one at a wedding reception, but I was inside.

Brown bear - Ohhhhhh, yeah. Alaska. And I got an up-close view standing in a meadow. One of the coolest things ever since I didn't get mauled.

Beaver - Saw one in the middle of Denver swimming around in our local creek. I think I've seen more in the distant past.

Bighorn sheep - Rocky Mountain National Park. I've also driven by them several times in the mountains.

Bobcat - Saw one during a trail run in Sedona. I was excited about it.

Eagle - They're like pigeons in Alaska.

Elk - Rocky Mountain National Park. I've also driven by them numerous times. I saw a herd of 15 to 20 in Taos a couple of weeks ago.

Moose - I ran a race in Estes Park, and they warned us about what to do if we encountered a moose. I laughed, but then on the way out of town there were two moose standing on the side of the ride. (I guess I can't count this since I was in a car.) I've also seen moose in Alaska when I was riding a train.

Mountain goat - Rocky Mountain National Park.

Otter (the animal, not the CP guy) - Geez, I guess I can't count this one, either. I saw them from a plane when I was in Alaska. It was a small bush plane and there were about 100 of them down below in a river. Pretty cool.

Porcupine - Another car sighting. I was on a work project in a remote state park in Colorado, and an enormous porcupine was walking down the road in the park. The thing was mid-thigh in total height if you count the quills.

Pronghorn - Another car sighting. I don't see them in Colorado, but I've seen them in Wyoming and New Mexico, and saw some huge ones in North Dakota last year.

Cottonmouth - I went fishing with my grandparents as a little kid, and there was one that was sunning on a branch in the river. We were fishing off a bridge and my grandmother spotted it.

Whale - I got great whale-watching in Madagascar (Gray whales, I think), but in North America I saw them in the Aleutians. I was on a ferry boat when one of them leapt out of the water nearby, which was really cool.

Orcas - Alaska ferry boat. Just saw their fins and upper backs, but it was obvious what they were.


It appears that Alaska is a great location for wildlife spotting.