For a wildlife TV host, it’s tough to narrow down a list of favorite animals.
“I’ve seen so many different species and they’re all special in their own location, be it Siberia or parts of Africa or China or Australia. When you’re there in their environment, it’s incredible,” Peter Gros, co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, said.
But if he had to choose, he says the following are five of his favorite species.
Why Peter loves these 5 species
Condors
“Condors are traditionally not a bird that people say, ‘wow, that’s a beautiful bird,’” Peter said. “A condor has no feathers on its head. But in nature, it’s a perfect design.”
Condors are known as nature’s “cleanup crew,” because they hunt on dead and decaying animals. In doing so, they get bacteria all over their face. However, their lack of feathers comes in handy. Ultraviolet rays from the sun kills the bacteria on their heads. By “cleaning up” nature, condors help prevent the spread of disease — an important job in an ecosystem!
These birds of prey have an incredible comeback story. At one point, only 25 condors remained in the wild. But today, thanks to conservationists, more than 500 condors fly in the sky.
In this Wild Kingdom digital spotlight about condor conservation, “Spirit of the Condor,” Peter was able to participate in a condor release, a poignant moment in his career.
“It was a highlight of a lifetime for me to hold one of these giant birds in my arms,” Peter said. “When the team determined this one was healthy enough, I faced it into the wind, set it down and it spread its wings and off it went, which was pretty incredible.”
To see condors in the wild, head west to Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and California and look up! For a great wildlife viewing experience, Peter recommends visiting Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur, California, where a group of condors is often spotted.
“You’ll see them circling so close to you, you can read the number tags on their wings!” Peter said.
Sea otters
As a scuba aficionado, Peter was bound to have a couple of aquatic creatures on his list. One such species is the sea otter.
“To be able to lie in the kelp bed and look up and see them resting on their backs, using tools to break open an abalone … it was just so exciting,” Peter said.
Peter ventured to Monterey, California to see sea otters in their natural habitat for the Protecting the Wild episode, “Secret Life of Sea Otters.” There, he spent time with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, seeing incredible sea otter rescue and rehabilitation up-close. The aquarium takes in orphaned otters, raises them and releases them back into the wild.
The area near the aquarium is now up to carrying capacity, or the maximum population size for the environment — great news for sea otter conservation! “My hope is now they’ll move further up the coast of Northern California, find new areas, new sloughs and their populations will continue to grow,” Peter said.
Sea otters are always a fan favorite at zoos and aquariums because of their playful nature. In the wild, Peter has enjoyed seeing sea otters from far away — he maintains a distance of at least 500 feet.
“It’s neat to see them laying there on their backs,” Peter said. “You think they’re sort of oblivious to what’s going on around them, but they always have one eye on you.”
Harbor seals
Another favorite marine species of Peter’s are harbor seals.
“I had a little sailboat in Sausalito, California. I would tie up there at my slip and the harbor seals became so accustomed to me being there,” Peter said. “They started bringing their young and they’d sun themselves on the log 20 feet from the back of the cockpit of my boat. So I could sit there and they’d be making harbor seal noises and grunting.”
“I felt really neat to be able to spend that much time on the water and have them sort of accept me and be that close to me all the time,” Peter said.
On Protecting the Wild, Peter spent time with harbor seals for the episode, “Mysteries of the Great White.” Harbor seals are a favorite food of sharks and Peter headed to Point Reyes, California, to learn more about them.
“Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California is a great for a coastal hike and to see wildlife,” Peter said. “You’ll have the opportunity to see harbor as well as northern elephant seals. You may even catch a glimpse of a great white in the ocean!”
Tigers
It wouldn’t be a list of Peter’s favorite animals without some big cats! After all, big cats are what brought Peter to Wild Kingdom. He’s spent decades studying felines and helping protect and conserve these species.
For a long time, almost all spotted and striped cats were on the endangered species list. Before Wild Kingdom, Peter was a professional fellow with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The facility he worked in participated in the AZA’s species survival plan for tigers, which helps ensure the animal’s population continues to grow.
A few of the tiger cubs weren’t being raised by the zoo’s mother tiger, so Peter and his team had to hand-raise them. This ensured they would receive all the necessary antibodies and nourishment for their growth and development.
“One of the tigers I had raised five years prior, Baghdad, had seven cubs born,” Peter said. “The cubs weren’t nursing, so I carefully crawled into her denning box and rotated the cubs, so they all got colostrum. Baghdad was very patient with me. They all did survive and did well, and that’s what led me to my introduction to Jim Fowler on the Johnny Carson show.”
Though Peter has spent a lot of time with tigers in captivity, he has yet to see one in the wild — though not for lack of trying!
“I went to Chitwan National Forest in Nepal. We drove around for four days in the national forest and saw tiger claw marks on trees. And that was it!” Peter said. “We ran across rhinos in the tall grass, but never any tigers.”
In Nepal, Peter learned of a unique way local people coexist with tigers.
“They wear masks on the back of their heads because tigers won’t attack things facing them,” Peter said. This allows the Nepali to continue their work outdoors and tigers to stay in their native habitat.
Cheetahs
Another big cat favorite of Peter’s is the cheetah. While working at a wildlife safari facility, Peter’s team got a call from the San Diego Zoo, asking Peter to bring down a male cheetah to breed with the zoo’s female cheetahs.
Usually, an animal transport involves sedating an animal. But Peter knew the secret to moving this particular cheetah.
“This cheetah, Kari, would do anything for sharp cheddar cheese,” Peter said. “So off we went to the San Diego Zoo. I took a tiny piece of cheese, opened the door and let him in!”
For years, Peter has worked with the Cheetah Conservation Fund to protect the big cat. Cheetahs are native to Africa, but the fund realized that cheetahs weren’t being saved in their native land because they were harming livestock and hurting ranchers’ profits.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund’s Executive Director, Laurie Marker, did research on how cheetahs and ranchers could coexist. She found that in Turkey, Anatolian sheepdogs chased wolves away from sheep. So, she imported the dogs to Africa to see if they could do the same with cheetahs.
“Cheetahs are very opportunistic and sneak up on a flock of animals,” Peter said. “The dogs would bark, and the cheetahs would run off. So, it became a very successful program.
Learn more about big cats and Peter’s history with these species.
