8 Animal Webcams to Brighten Your Day

When you're stuck in front of a computer, you can check in on wildlife and animals around the world with these streaming live feeds.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on June 06 2010

Wikipedia Creative Commons image

When you’re cooped up in your office on a beautiful summer day, it can be tough to feel inspired. But if you can’t get outside, you can always bring the great outdoors directly to your desktop, thanks to all of the free webcams from around the world. These days, you can watch a live feed of baby eagles hatching in their nest, or pandas splashing in a pond, as easily as you can check out the chickadee just outside your window. If you’re trapped inside but want a taste of the wild, here are some of our favorite live animal webcams.

Africam
Don’t have the cash for an African safari? Check out the wild elephants, ospreys, eagles, and other native wildlife in the plains of Africa.

San Diego Zoo
The world-renowned San Diego Zoo offers streaming video of several animal exhibits: polar bears, pandas, elephants, and apes. If you’re in the mood for adorable babies, you’ll find new additions in both the panda and elephant cams!

The Scottish Seabird Centre
The Firth of Forth, off the coast of Scotland, offers a rich array of beautiful birds and other native wildlife. Eight webcams around the harbor will offer you a choice of animals like puffins, gannets, guillemots, and occasionally even some dolphins or whales.

The National Zoo
The National Zoo in Washington, DC is home to almost 400 animal species. They don’t all have their own webcams, but plenty of them do. Choose from a selection of otters, bear cubs, cheetahs, sloths, tigers, and much more.

EagleCam
From a camera perched high in a pine tree on the Maine coast, check out amazing live footage of a nesting pair of bald eagles, who’ve lived in this tree for 13 years.

PugCam
Okay, this one’s not exactly wildlife, but if you love dogs, you’re bound to get a kick out of the adventures of Layla and Pepper, two pugs whose lives are broadcast around the clock.

Birdfeeder Cam
Love watching the birds? This webcam offers a live stream of a birdfeeder in Guelph, Ontario. Even if no one’s feeding at the moment, you can check out a time-lapse video of the previous day’s visitors.

Penguin Cam
Who doesn’t love penguins? In this live stream from California Academy of Sciences, you can watch penguins from above, from an underwater view, and from their biologists’ point of view. The site also provides penguin-related Q-and-As and regular blog posts.

Filed under: Animals and Pets,

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