Wildlife Themed Slots
The gaming industry picks up anything that gambling fans can relate to. There is a lot that software providers can base their games on, including the hundreds of animal species found in the wild. While some gaming sites may place these slots under the larger animal slots group, others put them differently under wildlife slots, where the games boast wildlife species. In a nutshell, wildlife slots do not have domestic species/pets such as dogs and cats, sea animals, or farm animals as symbols.
Learning about wildlife or interacting with the species on games may not be ideal, but whenever an opportunity presents itself, it is always advisable to seize it. For nature and wildlife lovers, wildlife-themed slots act as the best pick. One can easily pick a slot of their choice and learn about nature and wildlife, as they unlock special features and activate real-money payouts.
Brief History of the Genre
Wildlife slots have no specific year of entry but are among the oldest slots in the gambling world. Before internet existence, players into traditional slot machines (three-wheelers) would play slots with animals such as buffalos as symbols. When looking at the most prominent wildlife slots, a common aspect is that they are from developers with a rich history. They include Microgaming, NetEnt, IGT, Playtech, and Aristocrat. However, the traditional animal slots were basic and lacked the fascinating aspects of modern slots. Worth noting that animal slots are still available on most land-based casinos.
Today, most developers, including startup suppliers, have also ventured into the field. The main reason for this is that many slot lovers relate closely with the wild, one of the most popular themes. For this reason, more releases are appearing with better gameplay and functionality, ranging from thrilling graphics, soundtracks, and animations. Additionally, the slots have evolved to provide more reels, paylines, and features to add to the fun and payouts. And with the internet era, the slots are available online on desktops and mobile devices.
Slots With Wildlife ─ What Are They?
As the name suggests, these are slots based on wildlife. In a nutshell, the slots will have wildlife animals as the main symbols. Worth noting that a game title can give an idea of the main characters, and as is the norm, the main character assumes the role of the highest paying symbol. For example, in the Wild Wolf slot, the wolf is the main character assigned the highest-paying symbol. With the wild setting, players will find that other aspects, including other characters, animations, and sounds, will correspond with the main character’s environment. This explains why one finds a bear, moose, raccoon, and cougar on the Buffalo Blitz slot.
The main highlight of wildlife slots is that they are recognizable since it is easy to identify the animals. Unlike other themes such as culture that may be confusing, wildlife slots are popular for how easy they are to identify.
Wildlife Slot Machine Providers
The wildlife theme remains one of the most prominent themes that most providers have had an input in. While a few developers have unique themes, wildlife slots have loads of providers, ranging from top-leading and startup providers, creating them. The vast range is positive for players, thanks to the massive pool of options presented. We take a look at the top-rated providers with input in the wildlife slots:
- Microgaming: The provider boasts the most extensive collection of casino games that include wildlife slots. Preferred for its high-quality graphics and bonus features, the provider also gets a high rating for its jackpots. This consists of the infamous Mega Moolah, a wildlife progressive jackpot slot featuring lions, zebras, giraffes, and buffalos.
- NetEnt: Following Microgaming closely is NetEnt, another top-rated provider with a good collection of high-quality wildlife slots. The slots boast the best technology, including HTML5, a key aspect for mobile gaming. Serengeti Kings is one of the most popular wildlife slots from NetEnt based on the African savannahs and features lions and panthers.
- Playtech: The provider also cuts as another popular supplier of wildlife slots, with many preferring its products for the intuitive designs and intriguing features that include jackpots. Additionally, the security features on most of its products blended with software performance are other incentives influencing traffic. Buffalo Blitz is among the wildlife slots from Playtech featuring buffalos, bears, raccoons, and elks.
- IGT: The developer boasts a reputable experience in the industry, with its product range available on online and offline casinos. Like the mentioned providers, IGT is also famed for high-quality slots, including wildlife-themed slots, with features such as a progressive jackpot network. It also remains famous for its transition from flash games to creating them on the HTML5 technology platform to enable mobile gaming. Coyote Moon is one of the wildlife slots from IGT and features deers, lizards, and hummingbirds.
- Aristocrat: This is yet another experienced developer based in Australia and famous for developing web-based and mobile gaming products, including wildlife slots. It attracts its clientele through the highly-rated themed slots boasting unique features such as Reel Power and Drag ‘n Drop Wild. On its collection, Buffalo stands out as one of the wildlife slots featuring buffalo symbols.
Top Rated Wildlife Slots Online
From the ever-expanding list, it may get challenging to choose the popular wildlife slots. However, we have got you covered! The definition of top-rated slots is relative among slot lovers. Some prefer slots with excellent graphics, animations, storylines, and sounds, while others prefer the technical aspects such as reels, paylines, features, and bet sizes. But, what about a blend of all? Here is a list of the top-rated wildlife slots online meeting all the mentioned parameters:
- Mustang Money: The 5-reel slot from Ainsworth features 100 paylines and has a bet range of between 1p and £75 per spin. Players can trigger features such as free spins and multipliers from the wild and scatter symbols available. It is a medium-high volatile slot with its RTP at 94.38%.
- Great Rhino Megaways: The 6-reel slot from Pragmatic Play features up to 200,704 paylines and has a bet range of between 25p and £125. One can trigger a hub of features, including tumble, free spins, unlimited win multiplier, and ante bet. It is a highly volatile slot with its RTP at 96.58%.
- Siberian Storm: The 5-reel slot from IGT features 720 paylines and has a bet range of between 50p and £150. Players can trigger free spins, jackpot (1000x), and the unique Multiway Xtra Award feature. It is a medium volatile slot with its RTP at 96%.
- Mega Moolah: The 5-reel slot from Microgaming features 25 paylines and has a bet range of between 25p and £6.25. The slot has its setting over the plains of Africa and is the most popular progressive jackpot paying in the millions. Besides the jackpot, slot lovers can trigger free spins and bonus rounds. It is a medium volatile slot with its RTP at 88.12%. However, the addition of the jackpots takes its RTP higher to around 94%.
- Buffalo Blitz: The 6-reel slot from Playtech features up to 4,096 paylines and has a bet range of between 40p and £80. Players can activate a set of features, including free games, multipliers, and free spins. It is a highly volatile slot with its RTP at 95.96%.
In-Game Features
Even while each slot may provide a unique feature, there remain standard features one is bound to come across. As seen on the brief review of the top-rated wildlife slots, players can activate different in-game features, provided they hit the right symbol combination. The following is a list of the most popular features to expect on wildlife slots:
Return to Player
The slot’s return to player (RTP) rate is one aspect that seasoned and experienced players look out for before playing. Generally expressed in percentage form, the RTP shows an average rate of returns a slot is likely to give after several spins. For example, Mustang Money has a 94.38% RTP, meaning that a £100 bet on the slot pays out £94.38. Going by that notion, it is evident that the best slots are those with high RTP rates. However, when looking at the presented features, some players may consider slots with lower RTP. For example, Mega Moolah is the most popular progressive jackpot, but its RTP is about 88%. In this case, the jackpot is the main incentive.
In the gaming world, the highest RTP ranges anywhere above 95%, and several wildlife-themed slots meet the mark, including:
- Wild Circus: 98.18%
- Safari Sam: 97.50%
- Amanda Panda and the Jackpot Journey: 97.5%
- Jungle Boogie: 97.40%
- Buffalo Rising Megaways: 97.01%
- Jungle Gorilla: 96.56%
- Great Rhino Deluxe: 96.50%
Are Wildlife Themed Online Slots Available for Mobile Devices?
Most, if not all, modern games are created on the HTML5 technology platform that allows accessibility through multiple browsers such as Chrome and Safari. This explains why one can play wildlife slots on mobile devices via browsers. The highlight is that the technology ensures that compatibility is perfect without any clarity loss.
Moreover, besides accessing and playing the games on browsers, some gaming sites provide mobile apps and incorporate games on them. This becomes another alternative for mobile users to download the app and enjoy a more improved experience. However, the apps do not mirror the desktop version on the available products, explaining why one might come across fewer games on the app in some cases.
Why Play Wildlife Slot Machine Games?
The wildlife-themed slots are present in most physical and online casinos, an aspect making them popular globally. But what are the reasons for their popularity? Below are some of them:
- They are familiar species: Whether one is a lover of animals or not, they remain familiar, and it is one main reason developers tailor their games on the theme. Every player can easily recognize an elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, etc.
- They are readily available: For their familiarity, many developers have opted to create wildlife slots. Many providers have tapped into the wildlife theme compared to unique themes where a few developers create the products. For this reason, there are loads of titles to choose from.
- Available on mobile: Most wildlife slots are playable on mobile devices without any additional download. The developers use HTML5 technology to create the games, allowing for access on browsers.
