Picking favorite destinations is never easy, especially when you’ve had as many insane adventures as Coyote Peterson. YouTuber and creator of “Brave Wilderness” and host of Animal Planet’s series “Brave the Wild,” Peterson has been to so many places, it’s hard to count. Here are some of his favorites, in his own words.
Alaska
“Alaska is one of the most special places. It’s one of those dream locations as a kid that you always read about. But you’re like, how could I ever get that far away from my home to get to Alaska? And when I was in Alaska, I got to film with one of my most cherished animal species, the wolverine. If you don’t know about wolverines, you can look them up, but I got the chance to film an episode on wolverines and became the very first show host in history to enter an enclosure with an unharmed wolverine. Me and this predator were in an enclosure together, getting to interact and it was just a very special, very spiritual experience. One of the most meaningful moments of my entire life.”
Japan
“Japan was incredible. Just the culture, the people, the food. All of it was incredibly special. I got to work with one of the most renowned giant salamander experts in the world. And the Japanese giant salamander is considered a national treasure in Japan. We got to go out and capture tags and be hands-on with these giant amphibians. I also got to experience my first typhoon when I was in Japan. In the middle of the typhoon, I went out and got to stand in the eye of the storm, which was crazy. I’m very fascinated with storms. So getting the chance to be a part of that was very unique.”
Australia, Cape York Peninsula
“Cape York is just like another world. Cape York Peninsula is a challenge unto its own. We ended up becoming stranded in the Cape York Peninsula for several days, based on rainfall and not being able to get vehicles back out of there, and any time you get stranded in the remoteness of a wild place, it’s just magical—a lot of incredible things happen animal wise, things that we saw [and] caught on film.”
New Zealand
“We filmed in New Zealand and got the chance to shut down the Lord of the Rings set for the Shire. It was pretty magical to be able to go to Peter Jackson’s elaborate set and have them shut it down for four hours. We filmed an entire video where I actually got to turn into Smeagol/Gollum, and I can do the voice exceptionally. It was just very cool to get to be on a movie set like that with no restrictions and to be able to film. New Zealand is beautiful unto itself, but getting to go to arguably one of its most cherished and celebrated spots within entertainment and do your thing as a filmmaker for four hours, that was pretty cool. So that spot’s always gonna be special to me.”
Brazilian Pantanal
“We spent two weeks making a big conservation episode on jaguars and spent multiple days out in the Pantanal on boats, essentially living for 12 hours a day amongst these giant beautiful cats. We’re talking 10 feet off the side of our boats hunting for caiman, so that was pretty magical. The episode that we made from that is one of our favorite pieces of content that we’ve ever produced. Having that experience in a remote location so far away from civilization for that many days in a row is always going to stick with you.”
South Africa
“South Africa [is] a spot that we’ve put a lot of care and effort into when it comes to conservation projects. I’ve gotten to work hands-on with lions, elephants, both white and black rhinos, and work with some of the most renowned veterinarians when we were at these locations. So, that place is near and dear to our hearts. And we’re part of a big conservation project called Save the Horns. And a bunch of financing that we’ve raised for [a] reserve down there, that is creating a stronghold population for black rhinos that will hopefully preserve this species into the future. That’s one of the big sort of secondary conservation projects that we are involved in, so that place is very near and dear to my heart.”
Arizona
“Arizona has always been near and dear to my heart as I spent many summers in Arizona looking for and interacting with its mix of reptiles and creepy-crawly creatures. When it comes to just random places throughout the United States, every place that we go, whether it’s Arizona, Florida, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, New England, I have something special that I could talk about from every location that we’ve gone to. Whether [it’s] experiences with either the animals or the people that we’ve worked with, the fact that we captured all this on camera and it’s out there for us to share with the world is incredibly special to me.”
California
“Often seen as the state where entertainment dreams come true, it’s actually escaping the hustle and bustle of the city to absorb the variety of natural places that makes California one of my favorite places to film.”
Ohio
“Definitely the place I call home, and [Ohio] is also the state where I built my business, family, and can catch and admire my favorite animal in the world—common snapping turtles! It’s funny because you know people run around with cameras on their phones, documenting their experiences, and putting it on social media, and I just feel very lucky to not have to do that [by] myself, right? I have a camera team that rolls with me, and we have all these experiences behind the scenes . . . but it’s the experience that we capture in front of the camera that we are then able to share with the world that I think becomes that legacy . . . we live a very unordinary existence—the places we go, the things we get to see, and the things that we get to do.”
