The wildlife and aquarium livestreams every animal lover should watch
If you’ve ever wanted to see a peregrine falcon hatch, bears fishing for salmon or be delighted by cheeky otters, these are the best animal livestreams you can tune in to — all from the comfort of your desk.
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Melbourne animal lovers are a-flutter with the hatching of three peregrine falcon chicks on a CBD skyscraper.
Since they hatched last month, the chicks (or eyasses, if you want to be technical) have been tended to by their mother and father, as eagle-eyed bird watchers follow their every move.
The city’s live falcon cam has returned once again, streaming a blow-by-blow feed of the raptors’ comings and goings to their fascinated fans online.
It has even spawned a fan club of sorts, with adoring onlookers coining a variety of nicknames — most notably, “murder pompoms” — for the fluffy chicks.
It comes after just one of three chicks survived last year, with two succumbing to a fatal infection.
But the 367 Collins falcon cam isn’t the only wildlife stream you can tune in to — these are the best animal cams to watch.
PANDAS
Broadcast from the Chengdu breeding facility in China, this live stream cycles through multiple cameras 24/7.
With more than 100 pandas and a variety of enclosures at the research base, you never know what you’re going to see.
Snoozing pandas, snacking youngsters and playful cubs are among the unbearably adorable scenes that have played out on-screen.
PENGUINS
Magellanic penguins can be seen bobbing on the surface at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, before diving underwater.
Their enclosure has not one, but two live cams so viewers can see the little birds waddle around and sun themselves above ground.
Under the surface, their speed and agility is a marvel to behold.
BEARS
Katmai National Park’s brown bears are so famous, they’ve spawned a worldwide following of their own.
The Alaskan bears are famed for fishing at Brooks Falls during the annual autumn salmon run, going on a binge fest of epic proportions as they fatten up for a long winter hibernation.
Dedicated watchers are familiar with specific bears’ habits and names, and vote to crown the plumpest ursine of the year during the national park’s annual Fat Bear Week.
This year’s salmon supplies are drying up, but the odd bear or two can still be spotted fishing at the falls before the solar-powered cameras switch off for the year.
PUPPIES
They may be cute and cheeky, but the adorable labrador puppies at Warrior Canine Connection are set for very im-paw-tant jobs when they’re all grown up.
The US charity sees veterans train the pups to become service dogs, which help their fellow servicemen and women reintegrate into civilian life after suffering PTSD.
Dog lovers can also check out live streams of the puppy whelping room and outdoor puppy pen.
OTTERS
Watch five furry otters frolic and nap at California’s famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is also home to not one, but two oddly hypnotic jellyfish cams.
The intelligent sea mammals can often be seen grooming each other and frolicking in the water, before feeding times three times a day (4.30am, 7.30am and 9.30am AEDT)
Keep an eye out for the otter-ly adorable resident mustelid that loves to wrap itself in a blanket and float in its waterhole.
KITTENS
As many as six tiny felines can be seen catnapping, stretching out and cuddling together at Kitten Rescue Sanctuary’s adorably pink nursery.
Volunteers at the LA rescue centre pat and play with the pawfectly content kitties as they prepare to find their forever homes.
Cat enthusiasts can also check in on a second room for the shelter’s resident kittens.
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PEREGRINE FALCONS
Can’t get enough of the world’s fastest land animal? Charles Sturt University runs a live feed of its peregrine falcon nesting box — with bonus sound.
The parents live at the university’s campus in Orange, NSW, raising a fresh brood of chicks in the nesting box every spring.
A second camera is trained on the box’s ledge for viewers to keep an eye on mum and dad’s comings and goings.