Six Wildlife Webcams for Autumn

Livestreams you'll fall for

By Ariel Gans

September 24, 2017

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Photo by Maxiphoto/iStock

With summer winding down, you might be trading your beach balls for boots, but nature’s action doesn’t have an off-season. We’ve scouted out six action-packed livestreams that will turn your computer screen into a breathtaking landscape. Just click in, sit back, and watch nature unfold.

Turkey Cam

Fall means Turkey Day is around the corner, so get thankful with the rescued turkeys at Farm Sanctuary turkey barn in Watkins Glen, New York, as they eat, relax, and interact with their chicken and goat neighbors. Whereas many factory farms raise animals in battery cages in tiny airless warehouses, Farm Sanctuary prioritizes individual care and humane treatment. (Unfortunately, many table turkeys come from factory farms, so when shopping for yours this holiday season, look for labels advertising free-range or organic poultry.)

Gator Cam 

Live from the swamp at St. Augustine's Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida, this slimy cam features alligators anywhere from eight to 70 years old. North American alligators take the cake for having the most forceful bite of any living animal and can grow up to 15 feet long. You can watch these fearsome reptiles and their pink-feathered neighbors, the spoonbills, sunbathe and swim any time. We recommend tuning in for daily feedings at 3 P.M. and 6 P.M. PST.

Vampire Bat Cam

You might need to turn up your brightness for this webcam. Nocturnal vampire bats seek dark, damp places like this cave—at the Organization for Bat Conservation in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan—where they sleep until nightfall. These 3.5-inch mammals are on a blood diet and consume about an ounce per feeding. Feeling nervous? Don’t worry—these hallmarks of Halloween much prefer gorging on horses and cows over humans and don’t take enough blood to harm their hosts. Come hang with these surprisingly friendly critters as they sleep, groom, climb, and cuddle. 

Panda Cam

Position this cam on your dinner table for a special meal with one of the planet’s most critically endangered species. Tune into the mountainous forests of China as the Gengda Valley pandas use their powerful, puffy cheeks to devour their daily 24 to 40 pounds of bamboo. You can also witness live footage of them standing on their hind legs, somersaulting, climbing, and lounging around their elaborate nature reserve enclosures.

Great Gray Owl Cam

Peek into the life and times of a great gray owl family via this western Montana webcam. These fluffy predators weigh between two and three pounds, but with a wingspan of up to five feet, they’re North America’s largest species of owl. The highly sensitive feathers around their disc-shaped faces funnel sound to their ear canals, allowing the birds to pinpoint their prey in up to two feet of snow. Look out for their distinctive yellow eyes and white, bow-tie-shaped neck markings.

Tropical Fish Cam

Temperatures might be dropping and leaves might be falling, but you still don’t have to say sayonara to summer. This tropical webcam, stationed at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, offers a direct view into a coral reef. The exhibit re-creates the vibrant coastal marine life of Palau, a small country made up of more than 200 volcanic and coral islands in the northern Pacific Ocean. Keep an eye out for the vibrant pinks, oranges, and yellows of swarming anthias as well as the chubby lips, lengthy dorsal fins, and protruding lower jaws of carnivorous wrasses.