Wildlife on Webcam
Children are endlessly fascinated by animals, but few grandparents can indulge their grandchildren with a safari to Africa to view the wildlife. Fortunately, the Internet has made watching animals effortless with Webcams set up to broadcast from locations around the world. You can travel far afield with distant grandchildren by clicking on these critter cams and watching the animal antics together from your computers.
Some live cams are truly snapshot stills that are refreshed every so often, whereas a live streaming movie cam shows real-time movement. Evidently the logistics and cost of operating movie cameras in the wild are difficult and expensive, so most cameras are on a live refresh system. In some cases, live audio is included.
Sometimes you'll need to use the refresh button on your Web browser to get the most latest photo. Black spaces sometimes are just taking a minute to geyser; at other times they are displaying you night in another time zone.
Some sites stop transmission when animals are mating; others don't. Some Webcams are seasonal and post highlights of previous activity. A few permit you to sign up for an email alert when activity resumes.
Outdoor cams are best viewed during daylight hours. Permit for time zone differences (visit TimeandDate.com to get the time in another zone). Morning is a good time to visit U.S. sites, while evening is best for Europe and Africa.
I found that most sites opened up with my AOL browser, but some didn't. Internet Explorer six or seven and Firefox generally work well. Some sites will prompt you to install updated software so you can view the photos. Unluckily, annoying ads may be part of the deal.
Be warned. Watching animals from around the world live on Webcams can prove addictive. It's like a TV reality showcase, only the starlets here are critters. Bookmark these sites, and you and your grandchildren can visit your favorites regularly.
Badgers inherit their nest, known as a sett, from their parents, expanding the tunnel system as the clan grows.
Webcam: Still photo; operates around dusk, local time.
During the summer salmon run, grizzlies congregate on the sea to fish.
Where: McNeil Sea State Game Sanctuary, Homer, Alaska
Webcam: Live streaming movie with sound. When not operating, highlights of the previous season are displayed.
Polar bears prompt on land during the summer before returning to the sea ice in the fall to hunt seals.
Where: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Webcam: Still pic, refreshes every thirty seconds; operates in October and November, eight a.m. to four p.m., with the accomplish loop replayed two times before the next day.
Acorn woodpeckers, Rufous hummingbirds, and Cecil the mourning dove frequent the feeder.
Where: Boulder Creek, California
Webcam: Still photo, refreshes every ten minutes; operates dawn to dusk.
The eagle nest measures 6' broad by Five' deep. It sits in a cottonwood tree near a power plant.
Where: Platteville, Colorado
Webcam: Live streaming movie; operates February through May.
Africa's big five — lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino — have been spotted at this watering slot.
Where: Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa
Webcam: Live streaming movie with sound; operates twenty four hours.
Sea lions have outer ear flaps; seals do not.
Where: Pier 39, San Francisco, California
Webcam: Live streaming movie. At night and when sea lions leave for mating, the pic switches to best stills.
Snow monkeys love to soak in hot spring waters. The adults have crimson faces and bottoms.
Where: Jigokudani Monkey Park, near Nagano, Japan
Webcam: Still photo; refreshes every five minutes.
Barn owls are nocturnal. Nesting commences in February.
Webcam: Still pic; two cameras refresh every twenty seconds.
Some nests of these long-necked white storks have been used continuously for hundreds of years.
Webcam: Still pic; two cameras, refresh every five minutes.
Visitors can hand-feed special crackers to twenty reticulated giraffe in this herd.
Where: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Webcam: Giraffes are out in warm weather during zoo hours. Picture updates every minute.
These primates can live to be fifty years old in captivity.
Where: Barcelona Zoo, Barcelona, Spain
Webcam: Two cameras, picture updated every two seconds.
The clear water of the 360,000-gallon hippoquarium permits clear viewing of the 11-foot long hippos.
Where: Toledo Zoo, Toledo, Ohio
Webcam: Two cameras, live streaming movie.
Giant pandas are about the size of a stick of butter when they're born.
Where: San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California
Webcam: Live streaming movie; thirty six cameras, operate twenty four hours, or view time-lapse movie highlights of previous days.
As many as sixty cats, many named for movie starlets, live at the Hemingway house. About half have extra toes.
Where: Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, Key West, Florida
Webcam: Live streaming movie.
See twenty two green Ameraucana chicken eggs hatch! Or the camera may be trained on the flock outside.
Webcam: Live streaming movie.
Cows chew their cud from six to eight hours a day.
Where: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Webcam: Live streaming movie.
May is foaling season at BKS Coppertop Ranch, which raises quarter horses and miniature horses.
Webcam: Live streaming movie of numerous views around ranch and foaling pens.
This exhibit contains gentoo and macaroni penguins; the macaronis have yellow feathers on their goes.
Where: Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Webcam: Live streaming movie.
There are over three hundred different species of fish in this facility. Sharks are effortless to spot in the Pacific Tank.
Where: London Aquarium, London, England
Webcam: Live streaming movie.
Sea otters often rest in groups called "rafts" and sometimes hold paws to stay together.
Where: Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Webcam: Live streaming movie; operates twenty four hours.