Go wild or go home.
While the norm is to have dogs, cats, or bunnies as house pets, there are several celebrities who have opted for more than just regular pets. Going for pets that are a little more exotic than your usual furkids, these celebrities prove that the zoo and the wild aren’t the only homes for exotic animals.
It has always been a common misconception when one hears “exotic”, one thinks it will be wild and dangerous. Specifically, exotic pets refer to a species that is not native or indigenous to the owner’s location; and “pet” is a companion animal living with people.
Sounds pretty interesting and atypical eh?
We’ve picked 10 notable celebrities that own(ed) exotic pets. Take a look, for they may shock you:
1. Reese Witherspoon – Donkeys
Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. She made her acting debut as the female lead character in the film “The Man in the Moon” in 1991. She first introduced her 2 hee-haw pets named Honky and Tonky respectively in an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”. She revealed that it is a good practice for her 2 children to learn how to be kind and compassionate towards animals. She also said that she has made her children clean the stalls. That’s not all, the animal lover also has 2 pigs, 3 goats, 20 chickens, 3 dogs, and a horse. Wow..
2. Nicole Kidman – Alpacas
She owns pets who attack with their front feet, spit, and kick. The elegant redhead Nicole Kidman is globally recognised for being the leading actress in Hollywood yet Kidman prefers living in a more simple and rural aura on her farm in Nashville. Her home does not only consist of her husband Keith Urban and their daughter Sunday Rose, it is also a home for her Alpacas. Why Alpacas? In a talk show with Conan O’Brien, she claimed that these fluffy creatures are pretty and “they have long lashes”. She also said that she has always wanted “a mix of weird animals” and she wishes to have some snakes someday as well. Eep!
3. Tori Spelling – Silkie Bantam Chicken
You might know her as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills but you might not know that Tori Spelling is an animal lover. In fact, she’s a pet parent to an adorable silkie bantam chicken named Coco Chanel. Yeap, you read that right, it’s Coco Chanel. Unlike any other chicken, this precious one is treated like royalty. Apart from getting to sleep on the bed with Spelling, Coco is also chauffeured around in a bag (think Chihuahas being carried around in bags) and has various sweaters and vintage clothing pieces of her own.
4. Justin Bieber – Capuchin Monkey
For his 19th birthday, Justin Bieber received a capuchin monkey from music producer Jamal “Mally Mal” Rashid. It was obvious that Bieber bonded with the monkey, named Mally, as he constantly showed his love to Mally on Instagram. Unfortunately, their relationship hasn’t exactly been a smooth-sailing one. In 2013, Bieber brought Mally on tour with him and though Mally was riding with Bieber in his private jet, their arrival at Germany wasn’t exactly what they had hoped it’d be. Custom officers discovered that Mally was brought into the country without following the necessary procedures and receiving the required vaccinations which led to authorities confiscating Mally. So instead of providing proper paperwork to make sure he gets back Mally, he decided to abandon the monkey. However, after 2 years of separation, Bieber reimbursed a total amount of $10,700 to cover Mally’s expenses while at the shelter and he finally reunited with Mally, whom he called “the love of his life”. We must say that we love happy endings like these! 😀
5. Mike Tyson – Royal Bengal Tigers
He likes it big and wild. Michael Gerard “Mike” Tyson is an American retired professional boxer and a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world who holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association. He also made headlines for his unusual choice of pets – he owns pigeons and 3 Royal Bengal tigers! He aptly named his 2 tigress Kenya and Storm, and the male tiger Boris. One of them even starred in the hit comedy flick, “The Hangover”. At the cost of $70,000 per tiger and an extra $200,000 in food, his pets are definitely one of the most expensive pets to own. In case you didn’t know, there are only few hundreds of Bengal tigers left on Earth so this animal is categorised as an endangered species. Where are the tigers now, you ask? They have since been confiscated by the United States Department of Agriculture when they found out that Tyson didn’t own a proper license to keep them.
6. Megan Fox – Pig
We quote, “I feel like wild animals are just so much closer to God”. Megan Fox has always been an animal fan and she’s now a proud of 6 dogs, a squirrel, 2 birds, 2 cats, and a pig. She calls the tiny pink spotty creature Piggy Smalls. Smalls and few puppies snooze and snore in the dog pile together. While everyone’s first impression of a pig is lazy, Fox describes Smalls as smart and sweet. Ever since she had a pet pig, she quit eating pork as she said, “It’s sad to think they are just slaughtered for hot dogs and breakfast meats. They aren’t people, but they understand and feel.” Unfortunately, she was unable to keep the pet for long when Smalls began to behave “differently” and became “really sexually aggressive”. Fox’s ex-husband Brian Austin revealed to Australian radio’s “The Kyle and Jackie O Show” that Smalls was literally humping anyone and everyone that he sees, and claims that Smalls is different from dog “because a pig has hooves so they really dig in and go to work and on top of that they try to bite you!”
7. Miley Cyrus – Pig
Miley Cyrus moved on after the sudden death of her dog Floyd last year by purchasing an adorable little pig, Bubba Sue. As you can see from the picture, Bubba Sue is definitely one spoiled pet as both of them were snuggling on a private jet. Not only that, Miley carries Bubba Sue with her everywhere. In case you didn’t know, Bubba Sue is not Cyrus’ first pet pig. Back in 2012, a pig named Nora was given by PETA to Miley as her 20th birthday gift after acknowledging her love for pigs on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”.
8. Nicolas Cage – Two Cobras & One Octopus
Nicolas Cage‘s latest buy is an invertebrate animal. He probably wanted to purchase something new and a little different other than his several yachts, more than 50 vehicles, a jet, a castle, and 2 private islands. In addition, he has spent more than $270,000 purchasing his 2 pet cobra snacks named Shelba and Moby. Perhaps, to him, it’s no biggie to purchase an octopus at the cost of $150,000. Also, he allegedly revealed to the media that he needed the octopus to boost his inspiration as well as his acting skills. Not sure how an octopus could’ve helped that cause but unfortunately, he gave up on his tentacled buddy for unknown reason.
9. Kristen Stewart – Wolf-Dog Hybrid
Team Edward or team Jacob? Team Wolf or team vampire? Lucky for Kristen Stewart, she gets both. In the “Twilight” saga, she was on the vampire side but in reality, she cuddles with her wolf-dog hybrid, Jack, everyday at home. In an interview with David Letterman, she claimed that her pet looks kind of scary and that he’s a wolf but also that “he’s really sweet, he, like, falls at my feet”. P/S: Wolf hybrids are definitely legal. We think.
10. Leonardo DiCaprio – Sulcata Tortoise
Last but not least, we have Leonardo DiCaprio who is known for his leading acts in complex characters on big screens as well as living the fast-paced life but surprisingly, the acclaimed actor would rather slow down at home with his pet tortoise. But it ain’t light though, for his pet weighs as much as 200 pounds and will probably outlive the actor since its lifespan stretches till 80 years of age. Leonardo first bought the 10-year-old sulcata tortoise at the “North America Reptile Breeder Conference and Trade Show” in Anaheim, California.
Are there any other celebrities and their exotic pets who you think should make the above list too? Let us know in the comments box below 🙂
Sources: TheRichest, Page Six, Perez Hilton, K-EARTH 101, Pet360, CEOWORLD, Daily Express , Us Weekly, Megan Fox’s website, Petty & Posh.
