Tigers were the most popular choice with people around the world. Blake Meyer / Unsplash
Tigers were the most popular choice with people around the world. Blake Meyer / Unsplash
Tigers were the most popular choice with people around the world. Blake Meyer / Unsplash
Tigers were the most popular choice with people around the world. Blake Meyer / Unsplash

Lifestyle

The 10 animals the world wants to see most

Adventure travel company Explore Worldwide has analysed search data from more than 180 countries

Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau

March 29, 2023

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  • Arabic

Tigers, hippos and dolphins are some of the animals people around the world want to see most.

Adventure travel company Explore Worldwide analysed Google search data from more than 180 countries on 170 species, to reveal which animals people in different countries are most keen to see.

The company revealed its findings in the form of a world map.

Photo: Explore Worldwide
Photo: Explore Worldwide

In the UAE, the top choice was seals, which also ranked as the top choice of five other countries.

Tigers topped the list, being the favourite in 44 countries, followed by hippos in 28 countries and dolphins being the most popular in 17.

Outside of the top 10, Japan, Singapore and Kyrgyzstan were the only three countries that most wanted to see cats, while South Korea joined Finland as the two countries that most wanted to see bears. Kazakhstan was the only country that most wanted to see giraffes.

The 10 animals the world wants to see

  1. Tiger, 44 countries
  2. Hippo, 28 countries
  3. Dolphins, 17 countries
  4. Whale, 16 countries
  5. Gorilla, eight countries
  6. Seal, six countries
  7. Penguin, six countries
  8. Elk, five countries
  9. Elephant, four countries
  10. Lion, four countries

"We hope our research inspires travellers to see that a wildlife adventure isn't just restricted to seeing elephants and tigers," says Explore Worldwide managing director Michael Edwards.

"Regardless of which animal is on your wish list, if you want to embark on an animal-spotting tour, always opt to visit species in their natural habitat. We encourage you to visit sites that focus on the conservation and protection of these creatures so many more generations to come can spot the wonderful species out there."

The survey also shared the most popular wildlife destinations according to social media, based on tagged and viewed content on Instagram and TikTok.

Canada, with its selection of wildlife habitats and coastal, mountain, lake and forest landscapes, topped the list, followed by Australia, home to the Great Barrier Reef, the UK, with its variety of birdlife, South Africa, known for its famous safaris and Brazil, home to peacocks, macaws and toucans.

The 10 most popular wildlife destinations according to social media

  1. Canada, 203,392,682 hashtags and views
  2. Australia, 157,460,6073
  3. UK, 68,490,3374
  4. South Africa, 14,746,8665
  5. Brazil, 9,939,9696
  6. Scotland, 9,876,8007
  7. Costa Rica, 7,269,4728
  8. Nepal, 4,702,4819
  9. Ethiopia, 4,242,65810
  10. England, 3,514,787

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

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UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The bio

Who inspires you?

I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

How do you relax?

Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.

What is favourite book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times

What is your favourite Arabic film?

Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki

What is favourite English film?

Mamma Mia

Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?

If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.  

 

Updated: March 29, 2023, 12:58 PM
Wildlife