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From Swedish moose migrations to heart-melting interactions with Thailand’s Moo Deng, watching animal livestreams is fast becoming one of the internet’s favourite pastimes. 

It’s easy to see why. The appeal of slow TV – long, unscripted broadcasts of everything from migrating animals to train rides – lies in its lack of urgency. There’s no plot twist and no need to binge, making it a peaceful alternative to the algorithm-driven intensity of social media and the paralysing abundance of content to stream on apps like Netflix.

Across Europe, cameras are now quietly rolling on some of the continent’s most captivating creatures – and millions of viewers are watching along in real time.

In Sweden, more than nine million people tuned into themoose migration livestream in 2024. In the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands watched a round-the-clock livestream so that they could “ring” afish doorbell, enabling bream, pike, bass and more to make their spring migrations and lay their eggs in a safe place.

But those aren’t the only animal livestreams viewers can watch. Some aren’t seasonal, either. Whether you’re hoping for a dose of spring puffins, nesting eagles or a lazy bear scratching its back, here are a few feel-good animal livestreams worth watching.

Watch a nesting pair of storks become TV stars in Denmark

In Denmark, nesting white storks have become unlikely television actors.

Every spring and summer, national broadcaster TV Syd livestreams one stork nest round the clock – bothonline and on TV. The star storks have changed a lot in the more than 10 years that the broadcaster has been covering the nest.

This season, Connie and Thorkild are keeping viewers riveted as they hold down the nest until their eggs hatch.

Storks breed during the spring or summer and can lay eggs anytime between April and September. Once the eggs hatch, the young birds will remain in the nest for another couple of months before flying south, migrating as far as 700 kilometres in a day.

Only nine couples are nesting in Denmark this year. If you’re lucky, you might catch a changeover between Connie and Thorkild – or even a baby stork hatching. 

Catch the annual puffin show on Coquet Island

This charming livestream only comes online for a few months each year because puffins are strictly seasonal. Conveniently enough, the latest season has just begun.

From March to August, puffins arrive on Coquet Island off the Northumberland coast to breed, nest and strut their stuff. The camera is perched above a burrow, giving you a bird’s-eye view of these small, charismatic creatures – often called the “clowns of the sea” – as they flap, shuffle and occasionally fall asleep standing up.

In a sense, then, this stream is like nature’s answer to live comedy.

Rescued bears roam in Romania’s peaceful mountain sanctuary

Set in the Carpathian Mountains near Zarnesti, in Romania’s wooded Transylvania region, the Libearty sanctuary is home to more than 100 rescued bears. 

Many were once kept in circuses or cages. Now, they roam forested enclosures, splash in pools and nap in the shade – all of which is streamed round the clock.

The sanctuary was founded by UK-based animal rights group World Animal Protection and the Millions of Friends Association and can be visited in person, outside of winter.

For those who can’t trek to Romania for an in-the-flesh bear experience, the livestream gives a glimpse into what animal rehabilitation and conservation efforts look like in practice.

See majestic sea eagles raise chicks high in the Latvian pines

High in a spruce tree in Latvia, a white-tailed sea eagle pair is raising chicks, and you canwatch it all unfold, thanks to the Latvian Fund for Nature.

In 2014, a nest was discovered in the Kurzeme district northwest of Riga – one of just four known white-tailed sea eagle nests in Latvia that year. The next year, the mighty birds moved to a neighbouring spruce tree, and a camera was installed to monitor them.

In 2017, the fund installed solar and methanol-fuel cell batteries to keep the stream going 24 hours nearly year-round, apart from a few hours each day in wintertime.

Today, there are two dedicatedfan forums – one in Latvian, another in English – where viewers can discuss the daily highlights. It’s equal parts drama and meditation, with a strong message about conservation that anyone can add to online.

No cat? No problem. This Lithuanian shelter offers a livestream cuddle fix

Want something softer? Thiscat camera at the Beglobis rescue shelter in Vilnius is pure feline bliss.

The setup is simple. It’s just one room with a few comfy spots, some cat furniture and a revolving cast of furry residents. But the channel is oddly addictive, even if the common cat isn’t as rare as a brown bear or soaring eagle.

Whether you live somewhere with no-pet rules or have allergies, it’s a low-maintenance way to hang out with cats – without having things knocked off your shelves.