Some wildlife videos get a few thousand views. Others get watched hundreds of millions of times, which is more than the population of most countries on Earth.
We went through the most popular videos on the biggest official wildlife channels on YouTube and ranked the top 20 by total views. The BBC channels alone took 10 of the 20 spots for the most watched wildlife videos, but the No. 1 spot goes to a video filmed on a visitor’s camera in Kruger National Park, South Africa, with about 170 million more views than any other video!
How we ranked them: We only counted real animal videos uploaded by the people who filmed them or by official channels that publish their footage. We left out Shorts, compilations of different clips, full episodes, CGI and pet videos. If the same clip was uploaded more than once, we only counted the one with the most views.
WARNING: Some Videos Contain Very Happy Adult Animals in Action!
Take Me AnywhereSources 24
- Africa Adventures (2016) - The Largest Lion Pride Ever Blocking a Road in Kruger
- BBC (2016) - Ibex Climb a Dam Wall (Forces of Nature)
- BBC (2010) - Warthog Visits the Mongoose Spa (Banded Brothers)
- Latest Sightings (2014) - Lion Shows Tourists Why You Must Stay Inside Your Car
- Nat Geo WILD (2011) - Bonobo Love
- BBC Earth (2018) - Lion Trapped by Clan of Hyenas (Dynasties)
- BBC Earth (2017) - Monkey Troop Mourns Robot Baby (Spy in the Wild)
- BBC Earth (2015) - Cubs Meet Adult Tiger for the First Time (Tigers About the House)
- Jason Schlosberg (2007) - Battle at Kruger
- Latest Sightings (2016) - Giraffe Tries Saving Her Calf From Hunting Lions
- National Geographic (2010) - Cobra vs. Mongoose
- BBC Earth (2018) - Saving an Elephant From a Deadly Snare
- BBC Earth (2015) - Birth of Twin Tiger Cubs (Tigers About the House)
- BBC (2018) - World’s Smallest Cat (Big Cats)
- BBC Earth (2017) - Polar Bear vs Walrus
- National Geographic (2013) - Jaguar Attacks Crocodile Cousin
- Animal Planet (2015) - Lions Treat Woman Like the Leader of Their Pride
- BBC Earth (2019) - Underwater Ambush From Crocodile
- National Geographic (2015) - See How Easily a Rat Can Wriggle Up Your Toilet
- National Geographic (2017) - Lions 360°
- Maymo (2016) - Dog Pranked With Alien
- Guinness World Records - Most views for a dog on YouTube
- SANParks - Rules and regulations
- Wikipedia - Battle at Kruger
Editor's note
View counts were checked on November 10, 2026, and keep changing every day, so the order may shift over time. Our list covers the biggest official wildlife channels and well-known viral clips we could find; it’s possible a video we missed has more views. The live cams show the same kind of animal or habitat as each video, not the animals or events in the clips.
How we researched this article
We sorted the most popular uploads on major wildlife channels, including BBC, BBC Earth, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Animal Planet, Discovery, PBS Nature, Smithsonian Channel, Love Nature, Netflix and Latest Sightings, and added well-known viral clips filmed by tourists. We recorded each video’s view count and upload date from YouTube, removed duplicates, Shorts, compilations, full episodes, CGI and pet videos, and checked background facts against the original videos and the sources above.
