Even animals are no strangers to popularity contests. Pet owners like to argue whether cats or dogs are the best human companions, but many people have preferences when it comes to creatures in the wilderness, too. We know we can't keep many of them as pets, but we can still like them more than others, right?
One recent study explored the most popular animals by country. Analyzing Google data from 180 countries, they found out what the most popular animals are in certain countries. Tigers took the crown worldwide, as search results in over 44 countries showed that people would like to see a tiger in the wild the most.
Hippos came in as the second most sought-after animal worldwide. Although we can only see them in conservation areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, people from countries such as Switzerland, Guinea, and Haiti would want to see a hippo in real life the most.
Some attribute the sudden rise of interest in hippos to the baby pygmy hippo and internet sensation Moo Deng. The Khao Kheow Zoo in Bang Phra, Thailand, even has a 24/7 livestream of the cutie hippo.
The study also analyzed which countries are the most popular wildlife content destinations on social media. They found that Canada has the biggest percentage of wildlife content consumers on Instagram and TikTok. People also consume lots of wildlife content that comes from Australia, the U.K., Brazil, and South Africa.
Aside from the rarer and more exotic animals like lions, penguins, monkeys, dolphins, or pandas, other countries had some interesting answers. In some places, animals like the pangolin, the stork, the python, and even the cat were the most popular.
Michael Edwards, the managing director of the adventure tour operator Explore Worldwide that carried out the study, says the research could inspire people to explore more destinations and animals. "We hope our research inspires travelers to see that a wildlife adventure isn't just restricted to seeing elephants and tigers."
Okay, we know which animals are the most popular, but which ones are the most populous? The answer is probably not surprising: it's insects. There are probably around 10 quintillion (that's a number with 18 zeros) individual insects of all kinds of species around the whole world.
