North American Animals Bracket

We always think of other continents when we think of the location of the best animals. Most think Africa, others Asia, still others Australia, or South America. What about the animals right here in North America though? We have some incredibly awesome animals right in our backyard. Our family loves going on walks, and going to state parks to look at animals. Sometimes we go to the beach and look at animals there. If we are in the car, we are trying to spot birds and seeing who can find the coolest ones. Take a look at our North American Animal Bracket and see for yourself some of the awesome animals in America.

Once again, we have developed themed regions. These regions are based on the climates the animals live in. We have desert animals, snow, and an everything section. You will notice that is only 3 climates, because there are so many unique and awesome birds on this continent, we gave birds their own region as well. Animals that could fit in multiple categories, like mountain lion, were placed in the region that allowed for the greatest seperation of what I thought would be the favorites.

Our four 1 seeds are Bald Eagle, Grizzly Bear, Polar Bear, and Mountain Lion. I think most would agree that those are four of the first animals they think about when they think about this continent and its creatures. Some would say alligator or bison, but most are thinking of one of those 6 at first thought. Because of that the regions were themed around separating those animals. That being said, Moose is a really strong 3 seed. The snow bracket is so incredibly strong as a region. It is perhaps the strongest out of all the regions.

Enjoy seeing what we picked in our brackets....

Starting with the animal lover himself, Noland Jr.

Jr. goes to a school where the cougar is the mascot and he absolutely adores that school. So it is no surprise seeing the mountain lion (cougar) is his choice as overall champ. As you will notice, he tends to go with some type of intimidating predator in all of these brackets too. He chose the tiger in Asia and the cheetah in Africa. That is not by accident, he really enjoys learning about predators and looking at them.

The big surprise he had was picking the cottonmouth over the grizzly. I do not know where he got anti-grizzly all of a sudden, but he really was against them. Usually he is all about the apex predator, but not this one. He has been all about snakes lately though because they scare his mom. Isn't he too young to say things like that though? This kid said the other day he wants a pet snake. That will not ever happen in this house. At least he realizes a pet venomous snake is a bad idea. Still, Noland definitely supported the snakes in his bracket. Cottonmouth made it to the final 4 in Jr.'s bracket and was out in the first round for the rest of us.

The final four also included a Peregrine Falcon. Jr. learned all about these types of falcons on the Wild Kratts and has become obsessed ever since. They do have awesome "creature powers" as the Kratt brothers would say. A super cool bird that does many great things. I was not surprised when it made it all the way to the finals for Noland Jr. It was a little surprising to see Red Fox win that bottom right bracket, but it is an awesome predator and he is consistent with picking those. Also red is Jr.'s favorite color so it makes sense.

Next, is our other animal loving boy, Eli Thomas

Eli again shows a bias for bears. He always picks any type of bear to do really well. This bracket was no exception. Da Bears! Polar Bears won in the final over grizzly bears. Kodiak Bears only lost because they went up against Polar Bears. The only surprise is that not all bears advanced past the 1st round. Eli had Bullfrog over the black bear. I do not know where that came from. I can only think that he picked bullfrog because of leapfrog. They are both frogs and he loves leapfrog.

The spoonbill won the bird bracket for Eli. He really likes seeing them at Busch Gardens and at Animal Kingdom. They are one of my favorite birds as well. We see them in the wild in Florida every now and then and always see them near the coast. A bird with a spoon shaped beak, what isn't to like? Such a unique and majestic bird.

Also in the final four for Eli is the mountain lion. He is going to be joining Noland Jr. at school next year and likes everything Noland likes. Since Noland likes the cougar mascot, Eli likes it too. The mountain lion could win some future brackets for Eli, but it won't beat a bear. It definitely will not beat the polar bear. Now, to take Eli to see a polar bear....

Next, my lovely wife, Jenna

Sorry you didn't get to see Jenna's awesome handwriting, she was once again working on some project for her shop while we were filling these out. You will also notice some blue dots all over her paper. I left my clipboard out where I did these and the boys colored over them. Some blue marker from one of the boys was able to bleed through to her bracket. I was going to rewrite it, but I think it shows our family personality. This is for our family, so why not showcase the blue marker.

Moving on to the content of the bracket now....

Moose in the final four was the only surprise. It's not that the moose is not awesome. I just was not expecting moose to beat out polar bear on any of our brackets. Jenna really grew to like the moose on a vacation out west before we met. She took a trip to Colorado and saw some awesome moose while visiting family. There is that and the fact that moose are really cool.

The other final 4 are not surprising. Bald Eagle is a deserving champ. Mountain Lion was a #1 seed and how do you choose against a grizzly?

Pretty solid bracket right here from my wife, but the best bracket is still to come...

Finally, you can see my bracket...

How do you not pick the symbol of America in the Bald Eagle? I could not do it and selected the Bald Eagle as my overall champion. It is by far my favorite type of bird and I get goose bumps everytime I see one. It does not matter where I see it, but I really want to see a bald eagle whenever I go on a hike, in the car, or to a zoo. They are one of the first animals I look for. It is just truly a magnificent creature.

I almost went entirely chalk and pick all four one seeds. However, I chose one wildcard. The majestic pronghorn knocked off the mountain lion for me. Their speed and grace is truly magnificent. I have yet to see one and it is near the top of my creature list to see. I think of pronghorns as America's gazelles. It sure would be cool to see one in the wild.

Polar Bear would have been a great pick to win and I'd love to see them in the wild as well. It would be absolutely thrilling to see (not too close though). However, I could not put it over a Bald Eagle. The polar bear is my favorite type of bear though and I really have enjoyed seeing the few I have. Still, seeing one in the wild has to be the ultimate thrill.

We really do have some amazing creatures on this continent. Let's look at the top 5 selections based on spots advanced.
5. Porcupine - 10
4. Grizzly Bear - 13
3. Bald Eagle - 14
2. Polar Bear - 15
1. Mountain Lion - 16

These are some mountain lions that we found resting at the Jacksonville Zoo. Probably my favorite place to see these animals was the Catty Shack Ranch in Jacksonville though. There you can see them feeding. However, we were more interested in the tigers and African Lions feeding that day and didn't get a good picture. Still, these mountain lions are absolutely fantastic creatures. The mountain lion is the winner of the North American Animal Bracket.

What do you think of our picks?
What are your favorite animals from North America?
Did we leave any important animals out?
Do you have any topic that you want to see used on a bracket?
Leave us some comments and let us know.

Have a great weekend and a great summer (it is officially summer now!!!)
Join us in 5 days as we do our super villain bracket!!!

- Noland