15 Wild Animals People Really Kept as Pets

Dogs and cats apparently aren't interesting enough for everyone. Over the years, people have shared their homes and properties with everything from tigers and king cobras to hippos, sharks, giant rodents, and a few animals that seem much better suited to a nature documentary than a living room.

That doesn't mean you can simply go out and buy one. Laws governing exotic animals vary by species and location, and federal law now sharply restricts private ownership of big cats such as lions and tigers. Many wild animals also require specialized housing, permits, veterinary care, and experience that go far beyond ordinary pet ownership.

Still, people have done it. Here are 15 of the strangest wild and exotic animals that people have actually kept as pets or close companions.

Keeping a shark is slightly more complicated than bringing home a goldfish. Some shark species must keep swimming to move water across their gills, while others can pump water over their gills while resting. Either way, appropriate species need enormous, carefully maintained saltwater systems. Rapper and actor Ice-T has spoken about having a shark tank in his home, and his setup even helped inspire NBA star Gilbert Arenas to build his own massive shark aquarium. This is less "fish bowl on the kitchen counter" and more "private aquarium with a mortgage."

Mike Tyson famously kept tigers during the height of his boxing fame. Tyson has described owning several exotic animals and has talked openly about living, playing, and even swimming with one of his big cats. That is very much a historical example, though. The federal Big Cat Public Safety Act, enacted in 2022, effectively ended ordinary private ownership of tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars, and several related species. Existing private owners had a limited window to register animals they already possessed. Buying a tiger as your next house pet is no longer a legal option for the average American.

Actress Tippi Hedren and her family became one of the most famous examples of people living far too casually with a lion. In the early 1970s, an adult lion named Neil spent time inside their California home, where LIFE photographer Michael Rougier famously photographed him lounging around the family, including near a young Melanie Griffith. Hedren and then-husband Noel Marshall later established a ranch that housed numerous rescued big cats while working on the film Roar. The story is real, but the idea that Hedren still keeps lions as ordinary pets today is not. Modern federal law also prevents new private pet-lion ownership in the United States.

Naturalist Casey Anderson developed an unusually close bond with Brutus, a grizzly bear rescued as a tiny cub in 2002. Brutus became the animal that helped inspire Montana Grizzly Encounter, the rescue and education sanctuary Anderson founded around his care. The enormous bear later appeared alongside Anderson in television programs and films, making their relationship famous. Brutus was never a conventional household pet, despite sometimes being described that way. He was a sanctuary animal and wildlife ambassador. Brutus died in 2021 at age 19.

Jessica the hippo remains one of the strangest human-animal relationships on this list. Tonie and Shirley Joubert found her as a newborn after severe flooding in South Africa in 2000 and raised her after she was separated from her mother. Jessica remained free to enter the nearby river and interact with wild hippos but repeatedly returned to the Jouberts' property and developed an unusually close relationship with people. She is still alive, and in 2024 she gave birth to a male calf named Loekoe. Visitors can still book interactions with Jessica in 2026. A friendly hippo remains very much the exception, not the rule.

Of course Nicolas Cage once owned two king cobras. The actor kept a female named Sheba and an albino male named Moby behind protective glass and has described sitting in front of them while they appeared to watch him. Cage eventually had the snakes rehomed at a zoo after concerns were raised about keeping them in a residential neighborhood. Laws governing venomous snakes vary considerably. Florida, for example, still allows qualified people to keep venomous reptiles, but only with a permit, extensive documented experience, approved caging, and inspections. This is not exactly a beginner reptile.

Piranhas have one of the more fearsome reputations in the fish world, although their movie-monster image is greatly exaggerated. Species such as the red-bellied piranha have nevertheless been kept in private aquariums for decades. They need substantial tank space, strong filtration, appropriate water conditions, and a proper diet. Legality also depends on where you live, with some states and local governments restricting or prohibiting possession. In other words, maybe check the law before introducing your goldfish to its new roommate.

Capybaras are the world's largest living rodents, and their laid-back appearance has turned them into internet celebrities. Some people have gone considerably further than sharing memes. Texas resident Melanie Typaldos became well known for living with capybaras, including Gari, who weighed roughly 120 pounds and had access to the family's home and swimming pool. Capybaras are highly social, semi-aquatic animals that need plenty of room, companionship, specialized care, and regular access to water. Giant guinea pig energy does not automatically equal easy pet.

Paris Hilton's pet kinkajou, Baby Luv, became famous for exactly the reason exotic-animal experts warn that wild animals are not dogs with more interesting faces. In 2006, Baby Luv bit Hilton on the arm while she was playing with the animal, sending her to the emergency room for treatment and a tetanus shot. Kinkajous are nocturnal rainforest mammals related to raccoons and coatis. California classifies kinkajous as restricted wildlife and does not issue permits simply so someone can keep one as an ordinary pet.

If the previous animals sound a little too dangerous, there's always the giant cockroach option. Madagascar hissing cockroaches are wingless insects known for the loud hissing sound they make by forcing air through specialized openings in their bodies. They are commonly used in classrooms and educational programs and are also sold as pets. In fact, Petco currently lists them for sale and describes them as relatively easy to handle and care for. The downside is obvious: when you tell your friends you have roaches, you will need to explain that you bought them on purpose.

A Geoffroy's cat may be roughly comparable in size to a domestic cat, but the resemblance can be misleading. It is a wild South American feline. In 2022, federal wildlife officials confiscated one from a passenger at Denver International Airport after it had been illegally transported on a commercial flight. The cat, later named Dia, eventually found a permanent home at the Denver Zoo. Zoo officials have specifically emphasized that despite looking like an unusually fancy house cat, Geoffroy's cats are wild animals and should not be considered pets.

NFL running back Carson Steele may have one of the league's strangest biographical notes. His family has a pet alligator named Crocky-J, given to Steele as a Christmas present when he was in second grade. His current Philadelphia Eagles biography lists Crocky-J at about five feet long and around 100 pounds, living at the family home in Indiana. Private alligator ownership is regulated differently around the country. Florida, for example, requires a Class II personal pet license, substantial documented experience, and approved housing. An alligator is legal in some circumstances. "Just go buy one" is a very different sentence.

Vanilla Ice once owned a wallaroo named Bucky Buckaroo. Despite the common description, a wallaroo is not a kangaroo-wallaby cross. It is the name used for several medium-sized macropods that fall between the two in size. Bucky even made headlines after escaping in Florida in 2004. Exotic kangaroo ownership is still very much a thing. In March 2026, a 16-month-old pet kangaroo named Chesney escaped from a property in Wisconsin after being frightened by loose dogs. He cleared an eight-foot fence, remained missing for three days, and was eventually found safe.

Late actress Kirstie Alley was famously devoted to lemurs and at one point said she kept 14 of them, along with a collection of other animals. She was also unusually candid about the work involved, noting that lemurs can live for decades and require specialized care. The Duke Lemur Center strongly opposes keeping lemurs and other primates as pets, warning that they remain wild animals and can develop unpredictable behavior. Ownership remains legal in some states, but legal and sensible are not necessarily synonyms.

Juniper became one of social media's most famous foxes after coming to live with Florida caregiver Jessika Coker. Coker has used Juniper's popularity partly to explain why people should not assume a fox is simply a slightly unusual dog. Foxes can be destructive, nocturnal, difficult to train, expensive to treat, and extremely challenging to house. Coker has described caring for exotic animals as a full-time commitment and warns prospective owners to research laws and specialized care before bringing one home. Apparently being adorable on Instagram is not an approved husbandry plan.