Places With More Animals Than Humans

Humans may dominate most cities, but there are extraordinary places where animals dramatically outnumber the people living nearby. Some are remote wildlife habitats with few or no permanent residents, while others are famous because a particular species has flourished alongside a small human community.

1. Ōkunoshima, Japan — Rabbit Island

This small island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea is famous for free-roaming rabbits. With no substantial permanent human population, visitors can easily encounter far more rabbits than people.

2. Aoshima, Japan — Cat Island

Aoshima became famous for its cats as its human population declined. Cats are highly visible across the tiny community and substantially outnumber the remaining residents.

3. Christmas Island, Australia — Red Crabs

Tens of millions of red crabs inhabit Christmas Island. During their spectacular annual breeding migration, huge numbers cross the island toward the coast, vastly outnumbering its small human population.

4. South Georgia — Penguin Kingdom

This remote sub-Antarctic island has no permanent civilian population but supports enormous wildlife colonies. Millions of penguins breed there alongside seals and seabirds.

5. Falkland Islands — Sheep Country

The Falkland Islands have only a few thousand residents but hundreds of thousands of sheep, making livestock considerably more numerous than people.

6. New Zealand — Famous for Sheep

Although the gap has narrowed greatly from historic levels, New Zealand still has several sheep for every resident and remains one of the best-known examples of livestock outnumbering people.

7. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador — Wildlife Stronghold

The Galápagos support giant tortoises, marine iguanas, sea lions and remarkable birdlife. Protected and uninhabited islands contain extraordinary concentrations of wildlife with little or no human settlement.

8. Sable Island, Canada — Wild Horses

Sable Island has no conventional permanent community, while hundreds of free-roaming horses live there alongside large colonies of seals and seabirds.

9. Macquarie Island, Australia — Sub-Antarctic Haven

Macquarie Island has a small rotating research presence rather than a permanent civilian population. Its large penguin and seabird colonies overwhelmingly outnumber the people temporarily stationed there.

10. Antarctica — No Permanent Residents

Antarctica has no permanent human population. Scientists and support staff stay temporarily, while the continent and surrounding seas support vast seasonal populations of penguins, seals, whales and seabirds.

Why Do Animals Dominate These Places?

Isolation is often the key. Remote islands can provide protected breeding grounds with relatively little human disturbance. Elsewhere, farming creates large livestock populations and conservation measures protect important wildlife habitats.

A Note About the Numbers

Animal populations can change substantially by season and year, and some popular animal-to-human ratios rely on estimates. It is therefore safer to describe many of these destinations as places where animals clearly or seasonally outnumber people rather than assign a permanent ratio.

The Bottom Line

From millions of red crabs crossing Christmas Island to vast penguin colonies on South Georgia, these destinations are striking reminders that humans are not always the dominant residents. They also demonstrate the importance of protecting remote habitats for wildlife.

Editorial note: Population estimates change over time and seasonally. Visitors should follow local conservation rules and avoid disturbing or feeding wildlife unless local authorities explicitly permit it.