They bring so much joy to those of us at home: Shecky the Comedy Camel and his many talented brethren, the broken ox that made Colin eternally famous, the donkeys that proved more stubborn than Ari and Staella or Heather and Eve, horses and cattle and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

I thought those of us who delight in the animal hijinks of TAR - and the havoc, sometimes deserved, they wreak on the teams - would like a corner in which to discuss, debate and reminisce.

I won't admit how excited I was to see camels will be making an appearance again this season. They always manage to make things interesting.

Among my favorites were the spitting llamas in TAR7 and when we learn that Chris was The Sheep Whisperer in TAR2. It's almost sad that I was more than a bit giddy to see that there were donkeys in the premiere and they didn't dissapoint.

When I saw a camel - in close up, no less! - in the credits, I started jumping up and down and yelling 'camels! I get camels! Yay, camels!' And now it looks as if we'll have them in the very next leg.

My joy knows no bounds.

Don't forget about the goats from TAR5 ("This one is the bad one!!") and the Fast Forward baby orangutans in TAR4. It's because of the latter that I'm hoping for a visit to a panda nursery before Survivor: China wraps up.

Best animals? Well, I would've went with the TAR2 sheep ("Can't tackle 'em"), but the donkeys were awesome last week.

My favorites include the donkeys last week, the broken ox, the flounders in TARAS, as well as the bomb sniffing rats, because that's just cool.

They weren't live animals, but who could forget the elephants in TAR7? "We have a bad elephant!" Or we have a crazy old lady who climbed on top of an elephant for no reason!

Let's not forget the beloved tigers from season one, who were in the opening credits through season seven.

And the camels deserve much better treatment than they were given in the Morrocco to Barcelona leg of TAR 10.

As to the pandas, I hope the show remembers to include them the next time they go to mainland China.

Not to forget our little Guido who has only appeared on two seasons....BB xxoo

I want a task with otters! Otters! OTTERS!!!

Oh....otters would be great! :) You want an animal that has a mind of its own and a streak of mischief? Otters are the place to be!

One of the animal tasks that I was enchanted with was the unplanned Fast Forward that Reichen and Chip went to in TAR4. I loved how they had a little fun feeding the orangutans...and this is one of the few times that Reichen was totally charming.

Gator wrangling in 10? No way would I have done that task. The bomb sniffing rats in All Stars were beyond fantastic.

Face it, animals tasks are great because they are waaaaay too smart to have patience with stupid people.

Has anyone been injured by an animal? I mean needing more than first aid.

Mirna vs the cow. Comedy gold.

Charla vs. the horse. Comedy silver.

Oh, good, it wasn't just me! I had the exact reaction. Then, getting ornery donkeys during the very first episode of the season was gravy.


And animals couldn't give a rat's patootie about the Race, and getting upset with them just makes things worse. It's wonderful.

Another favorite was the dog-walking task several seasons ago. IIRC, that was the episode that ended with the elimination of that dreadful Big Brother contestant and her boyfriend, which was a bonus, but seeing the Racers have to deal with a dozen dogs apiece was hilarious.

I would fully support an otter-based task.

Otters would be fantastic (though what kind task could involve them?). Cute AND bound to frustrate racers!

C'mon! Mirna's face isn't that equine! (ZING!)

The fruit-flinging monkeys from the Southeast Asian temple food pyramids are a favorite of mine.

And let's not forget the deceased, like the big dead dripping fish that had to be carried down a street in Italy (as I recall) a couple seasons ago, TAR10 maybe?

But I think we all agree on the unequaled splendor and majesty of camels.

The fruit-flinging monkeys from the Southeast Asian temple food pyramids are a favorite of mine.

Oh, I was just going to say that! They couldn't get the cakes made before the monkeys would eat it. Great laughs.

Can you stick your hand in the cow's ass?

Can we have a moment to ponder the magnificence of Colin's Ox? That was a real cementing moment for me, one of the things that secured my love of the Race forevermore (it has helped me forgive many sins - Family edition, the winners of 6 and 11, etc) and showed that even the seemingly mighty have vulnerabilities.

Nothing beats that utter breakdown of spirit. Irreplaceable.

The ox is definitely my favorite, but I did like the dogs in TAR 5 that kept trying to have sex. And the dogs whose va had already mosed (but I can't remember the team that said that -- it was the older couple).

Colin and the ox has to be my favorite TAR moment. That's the kind of comedy you just can't script. As some one mentioned up thread, animals don't care that you're in a hurry and will continue to do things as they are trained. It's really the level of incompetence of the racers that causes the major problem. Yet another reason why TAR is so interesting: how often do we as Americans have to deal with animals to accomplish an everyday task?

Is that where Charla said, "You have to stick your hand up its ass?" Mirna totally freaked at that thought. For me I loved seeing the dolphins in Cozumel in TAR 3. I love all sorts of marine life. Also, any elephants are cool too. I would love to ride or scrub one.

My lovely camels were back and I was sooo happy. Not only that, but they were decked out like show ponies - I guess there are advantages to being the Maharajah's camels! I did feel sorry for the native who got kicked hard by one of the herd.

The decorated elephants were beautiful, and I liked the way the Flight Attendants let themselves enjoy the task, and how they commented on the beauty and personality of their elephant.

And what about the monkeys who hold down the Fort (at the Mat)? It looked as if they're TAR fans, and came out to watch the show and make humans of themselves.

Ha! There were a lot of them there, rollicking around on the roofs.

I liked the Speed Bump with the elephant painting, too. Then there was the elephant that one team (Tammy and Victor, maybe?) passed in traffic.

That tiger, Esso, was so gorgeous I was spellbound by each and every frame of him. I wonder if he was named in honor of what used to be Exxon, with its tiger mascot and slogan of 'a tiger in your tank'? Or maybe it's a Hindi word for something. In any event, he was stunning and majestic. However, given that the trainer was missing an arm, I have to respect the Racers for their willingness to get up close and personal with the big cat.

Yes, that tiger was a pretty one. I suspect Esso is in fact named for the predecessor for Exxon. IIRC, "Esso" continued to be used as the brand name in Asia for a while longer than in the U.S., so the company might have had something to do with the tiger cub coming to that zoo back when.

I've read some reviews by tourists of the Phuket zoo and people were really disturbed by both the living conditions and the shape of the animals themselves. Many of the reviewers also commented on the guy with the tiger hitting him with the stick to get his picture taken. I steer clear of zoos and this one seems to be a really bad one. I wish TAR hadn't gone there, they made it look so nice but there is a lot of neglect/abuse as well.

Esso is still the brand name in most of the world -- it was never changed to Exxon in most places. (In fact, in 1998, there was an explosion at an Esso plant down here in Victoria which led to the entire state spending about a month or so on gas rations. On a related note, never try and cook pizzas in an electric frypan.)

Topic? So far this season, we've had horses, camels, elephantse and tigers. All we need now are oxen and we have Bingo.

Wasn't Bingo a Dog?

(I'll leave quietly now)