Turns out… I don’t just collect passport stamps. I collect animals too.
Until I started pulling photos together this morning, I never really thought about it. But looking through my travel pictures, I realized something funny.
Over the years, I’ve met a surprising amount of wildlife around the world.
Sometimes I went looking for it — on safari, in the Galápagos, or hiking in remote places.
And sometimes it just… found me.
From koalas and llamas to camels, puppies, giant tortoises, beach pigs, and even the occasional shark sighting, it turns out my travels have included quite a few unexpected animal encounters.
Some were adorable.
Some were unforgettable.
And a few sent three grown women sprinting out of the ocean faster than we thought possible.
Here are a few of the furry (and occasionally finned) friends I’ve met along the way.
From Juju with love 💙🐫🐢🐨🐖🦈
Australia — the Koala Hug
Soft, sleepy, and surprisingly clingy — Micro the koala might be the most relaxed travel companion I’ve ever had.
Peru — Llama Photobomb
I’m still not entirely sure if we were friends… or if he was just judging my hiking outfit.
Greenland — Puppy Love
I’m not sure who was happier in this moment — me or the puppy.
Morocco — Camel Caravan
The camels were less enthusiastic about the whole arrangement than the tourists were.
Morocco – Let’s Just Say… Wildlife Happens
Some of them you can’t unsee.
French Polynesia — Beach Pig
French Polynesia apparently has beach pigs.
French Polynesia – the “Big Fish” incident
Suddenly Susan pointed into the water and said,
“Look at that big fish!”
Jennifer and I squinted and immediately replied,
“That’s not a fish.”
The next thing you know, three grown women ran out of that ocean faster than I’m sure we had moved in years.
For the record… it was a shark.
Sometimes the ocean reminds you very quickly that you are not actually the one in charge.
Galápagos – Giant Tortoise
Nairobi, Kenya — Baby Elephsnts
me and about twenty baby elephants.
They wandered around like toddlers at recess while the keepers fed them bottles and branches.
I’m pretty sure if I had stayed long enough one of them would have tried to follow me home.
Not a bad travel day.
Serengeti, Tanzania
We didn’t see the chase.
We didn’t see the kill.
But we definitely saw dinner.
A male lion was lying there with an impala, calmly tearing into his meal like this was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Because for him, it was.
It’s one thing to watch wildlife documentaries at home. It’s another thing entirely to sit twenty feet away in an open safari vehicle and realize you’re watching the real circle of life play out in front of you.
It wasn’t pretty.
But it was unforgettable.
And it was a powerful reminder that the African savanna is not a zoo or a movie set — it’s the real wild.
Serengeti, Tanzania
We drove up and found a pair of lions right next to the road.
And they were… busy.
If you’ve never seen lions mate before, here’s a wildlife fact: they mate every 15–20 minutes for hours, sometimes even days.
Which meant our safari Jeep ended up sitting there for quite a while.
At some point someone in our group whispered,
“Are we seriously watching this?”
Yes.
Yes we were.
Apparently safari also includes a front-row seat to things that would normally require a National Geographic late-night channel warning.
Let’s just say… nature has absolutely no sense of modesty.
Apparently, no matter where I go in the world… I never travel alone.
From JuJu with Love 
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