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It's an unlikely showstopper, but the annual moose migration in Sweden currently being live streamed by the country's national broadcaster is achieving viewing figures any Netflix series would be proud of. 'The Great Moose Migration' is a 24-hour online live stream that follows the mammals crossing the Ångerman river in the country's northern region. When it was first broadcast in 2019, the stream attracted a little under one million viewers. In 2024, that figure had risen to nine million. So, why is wildlife streaming setting a new social media trend in Europe and the rest of the world?
Click through this gallery and tune in to this broadcasting phenomenon and find out, too, the most recent popular wildlife destinations on social media, ranked.
A 24-hour online live stream aired by Sweden's national broadcaster SVT is once again drawing millions of viewers to their tablets, phones, and desktop PCs. 'The Great Moose Migration' is unedited and hours-long coverage of Swedish moose undertaking their annual migration near Kullberg in the country's northern reaches.
Since 2019, live streaming of the moose's Nordic trek has aired for several weeks each spring on SVT. During that first season, just under a million people tuned in to follow the mammals on their journey. In 2024, more than nine million people watched across the globe.
The spring migration to summer pastures sees the moose swimming across the Ångerman river. It's along the banks of the river that 30-plus remote video and night vision cameras are positioned. With no music, no script, and no narration, 'The Great Moose Migration' exemplifies the phenomenon known as slow TV.
Slow TV shows something happening at the rate it is experienced. There's no speeding up through plotting and editing. It's this unhurried, minute-by-minute filmmaking technique and the absence of staged tension and drama that media experts believe makes slow TV so compelling. And across Europe and other parts of the world, cameras are rolling in real time on some of the most captivating creatures on the planet.
In Denmark, for example, every spring and summer national broadcaster TV Syd livestreams one white stork nest round the clock—both online and on TV. The two birds—Connie and Thorkild—are currently keeping viewers riveted as they care for their hatchlings.
From March to August, puffins arrive on Coquet Island off the Northumberland coast in England to breed. The seasonal drama is played in front of a hidden camera that gives viewers a bird's-eye view of these comical-looking seabirds, often described as the "clowns of the sea."
In Romania, the Libearty sanctuary is home to more than 100 rescued bears. The reserve, located in the Carpathian Mountains near Zarnesti, in the country's forested Transylvania region, can be visited in person, outside of winter. For those unable to reach this secluded area, the livestream offers a glimpse of the bears roaming their enclosures or cooling off in pools.
A camera installed high up in a spruce tree in the Kurzeme district northwest of Riga in Latvia overlooks a nest where a pair of white-tailed sea eagles have been rearing their young since 2015. The livestream is coordinated by the Latvian Fund for Nature.
And in Scotland, an osprey called Louis has returned to his nesting site at Loch Arkaig Pine Forest after concerns were raised about the raptor's health. His mate, Dorcha, was already on site to greet him. A live nest camera has clocked up 400,000 views worldwide since its installation in 2017.
Sweden's gripping moose migration live feed and wildlife streams in general remind viewers of the importance of conservation. This has led to a huge upturn in wildlife photos snapped and shared on social media.
By analyzing hashtag data from TikTok and Instagram, travel platform Explore Worldwide produced a report identifying which destinations and animals were trending online. Twenty countries were subsequently ranked as the most popular wildlife destinations on social media.
Singapore scored 359,968 TikTok and Instagram users using hashtags relating to the destination and the fauna therein. This figure ranked the island country and city-state in 20th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination. The long-tailed macaque, also known as the crab-eating macaque, is an increasingly rare sighting.
In 19th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination was Namibia. Within the borders of this southern African nation is the Kalahari Desert, home to, among other mammals, giraffes, lions, and rhinos.
Hashtags relating to the United States and its variety of wildlife numbered 419,725 TikTok and Instagram users, placing the US in 18th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination. The mountain lion is one of America's most prominent animal species.
One of Sri Lanka's most eye-catching creatures is the gray slender loris, a species of primate. TikTok and Instagram users traveling in the country created 675,874 posts relating to the nation's fauna, to place it in 17th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination.
A popular destination on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar was ranked 16th as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with 832,796 TikTok and Instagram posts relating the country's mammals and birds to a wide audience. Pictured is the distinctive Arabian oryx.
There were 942,509 TikTok and Instagram posts documenting Ireland's fauna, which placed the "Emerald Isle" in 15th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination. The majestic golden eagle is Ireland's second largest bird of prey, being almost twice the size of the common buzzard.
A vast country, India scored 14th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with 980,239 TikTok and Instagram posts. The illusive Bengal tiger ranks among the country's most iconic—and endangered—animals.
TikTok and Instagram wildlife hashtag posts amounted to 1,132,082 in New Zealand, to place this country in 13th position as social media's most popular wildlife destination. Pictured is the tuatara, a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand.
Data collected from the Palestinian territories before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war recorded 3,300,386 TikTok and Instagram posts highlighting the fauna in this troubled region. The figure placed the territories in 12th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination.
TikTok and Instagram posts documenting the fabulous fauna in Kenya numbered 2,942,376, to make this African nation social media's 11th most popular wildlife destination.
As a standalone UK nation, England achieved 10th place as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with 3,514,787 posts documenting animals such as the adorably cute hedgehog.
The endangered Ethiopian wolf captures the imagination of many wildlife enthusiasts, and TikTok and Instagram users placed Ethiopia in ninth place as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with a total of 4,242,658 posts.
A landlocked country in South Asia, Nepal was the eighth most popular wildlife destination in terms of social media users. A total of 4,702,481 TikTok and Instagram posts highlighted the nation's fauna. Pictured is the endangered red panda.
Costa Rica is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in all of Latin America, species and organisms exemplified by the beautiful red-eyed tree frog. According to the study, 7,269,472 TikTok and Instagram posts placed this small country in seventh place as social media's most popular wildlife destination.
Scotland's emblematic wildlife includes the magnificent red deer, an animal that in fact inhabits most of Europe and parts of western Asia. As a nation, Scotland ranked sixth as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with 9,876,800 TikTok and Instagram posts.
Brazil took fifth place as social media's most popular wildlife destination, with 9,939,969 TikTok and Instagram posts. The nation's astonishingly diverse wildlife includes rare and exotic animals, such as the ocelot.
South Africa was revealed as social media's fourth most popular wildlife destination, with 14,746,866 post in total. Data identified over 14 million collective views and posts on TikTok and Instagram for content tagged with #southafricawildlife. The country is a top safari destination, while its waters are home to the great white shark, among other denizens of the deep.
Over half a million Instagram posts tagged with #wildlifeinbritain, and TikTok videos with the hashtag, helped place the United Kingdom in third place as the most popular wildlife destination on social media, with I68,490,337 posts in total. Great Britain's incredible variety of birdlife is one reason for the impressive numbers.
Australia was the second most popular wildlife destination on social media, with a total of 157,460,607 posts. There were well over 150 million views of TikTok videos tagged with #australiawildlife, and nearly 450,000 Instagram posts with the same hashtag. The country's most photographed wildlife includes kangaroos and koalas. But creatures like the diamond python are also the focus of much attention.
Explore Worldwide's study revealed that Canada is the country that has been tagged and viewed the most in wildlife content on Instagram and TikTok. Total TikTok and Instagram wildlife hashtag posts amounted to an impressive 203,392,682. Some of the country's most iconic animals include beavers, caribou, killer whales, and grizzly bears.
Sources: (SVT) (Euronews) (TV Syd) (World Animal Protection) (Latvian Fund for Nature) (Woodland Trust) (International Union for Conservation of Nature) (NPR) (Sky News) (The Guardian) (Explore Worldwide)
Why wildlife streaming is the new showstopper
A wonderful way to admire animals while promoting the importance of conservation
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It's an unlikely showstopper, but the annual moose migration in Sweden currently being live streamed by the country's national broadcaster is achieving viewing figures any Netflix series would be proud of. 'The Great Moose Migration' is a 24-hour online live stream that follows the mammals crossing the Ångerman river in the country's northern region. When it was first broadcast in 2019, the stream attracted a little under one million viewers. In 2024, that figure had risen to nine million. So, why is wildlife streaming setting a new social media trend in Europe and the rest of the world?
Click through this gallery and tune in to this broadcasting phenomenon and find out, too, the most recent popular wildlife destinations on social media, ranked.