Australia is officially one of the best places in the world to see wildlife

What's Australia without our animals? Answer: Too sad to contemplate. 

Endlessly iconic and the source of about 87 per cent of our overseas reputation, Australia is home to a wealth of native wildlife that doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet. And now, a new data index released by wildlife travel experts Go2Africa proves it all beyond a shadow of a doubt. Australia is one of the best places on Earth for wildlife-seeking travellers. Fourth-best, to be precise. 

To get to this conclusion, Go2Africa created a comprehensive Wildlife Index that compared countries around the world for their offering of wildlife experiences. They utilised seven different data metrics, including the number of: Indigenous protected areas, national parks, wildlife species and endangered species, protected natural areas, megafauna conservation efforts and general natural environment quality. The countries were then sorted into a top ten list, based on the number of points they got for each data category. 

Wildlife travel is a huge thing, with millions of animal-loving people across the world keen to explore places where the natural environment is protected enough to allow for the authentic flourishing of native species out in the wild. 

Go2's Wildlife Index ranked Australia as the fourth-best place for wildlife-centric travel in the world, scoring Australia a whopping 82.1 per cent for having the most national parks out of any country. With 685 protected areas dedicated to conservation and 7,799 recorded wildlife species, Australia also has the third-highest number of wildlife species globally. 

The United States ranked first in the world with a score of 90.5 out of 100. This was due to their 51,018 protected natural areas (the most in the world), which include national parks, wildlife refuges and conservation units, as well as their diverse array of 5,500 animal species. Plus, with 61 national parks in the country, they outdid any other country on the list. 

The top 10 countries for wildlife travel in the world, ranked. 

1. United States of America 
2. Brazil 
3. Colombia 
4. Australia 
5. Tanzania 
6. Canada 
7. Peru 
8. Spain 
9. Kenya 
10. Panama 

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