Grey Seals

A grey seal is released on the southern coast near Czolpino on the Baltic sea, June 2005. Early this week, 10 young grey seals were released into the chilly waters of the Baltic as part of a project to reintroduce the voracious carnivores to the southern Baltic. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Not too long ago on the geologic time scale (around 9 million years ago), carnivorous beasts roamed the forests of Europe. The giant mammals, including an enormous "bear dog" and two types of saber-toothed felines, could probably give modern lions and leopards in Africa a run for their money. The European continent was once ruled by a number of now-extinct large animals, including giant hippopotamuses and straight-tusked elephants. Many large animal species went extinct after coming up against the newest predator, Homo sapiens, reported the New York Times, but fortunately Europe managed to turn around a history of extinction and has shown that a number of bird and mammal populations are recovering, wrote The Guardian. If you can't afford an all-inclusive safari trip to Africa or you prefer the cooler climate and plethora of cities and villages in Europe, check out some of the remaining large mammals that can be tracked down on a European safari tour.

With their large, dewy eyes, lithe movements through the water, and curious disposition, it's hard not to love seals. During the Stone Age in Europe, the gray seal was a common species across the North Sea and around the mainland of the continent. But the population diminished greatly due to hunting beginning in the 11th century and continuing till the 20th century, wrote researchers in a paper published by the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission's Scientific Publication Series. Fortunately the seal population has since then begun to recover. According to the BBC, half of the grey seals in the world are now found on the shores of the British Isles, and others can be found on the coasts of France and Norway.

NEXT: Santa's helpers, complete with glowing antlers

Reindeer

A reindeer eats grass on June 4, 2010 in Ny-Alesund in the Svalbard archipelago. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

Reindeer might be best known for their role in transporting Santa Claus around the globe on Christmas Eve, but the hardy mammals are far more impressive for the amount of ground they can cover on a daily basis. The only member of the deer species in which both males and females have antlers, reindeer make a seasonal migration of nearly 2,000 miles every year in search of food and shelter, according to Wildlife Extra. In Europe, wild reindeer can be found in Russia, Norway and Finland and domesticated herds are located across the continent and are used to pull sleighs or for their meat and pelts. Reindeer owners in Finland recently started spraying the animals' antlers with reflective spray to make the animals more visible to motorists, who get into 3,000 to 5,000 collisions with the reindeer every year, reported AFP. If the spray proves to be useful, more will be used next year and you might get the chance to glimpse a glowing reindeer – though the glow won't be red or coming from the animal's nose.

NEXT: A natural resource for the wetlands

Konik Wild Horses

The Konik is a small Polish horse that remains semi-feral and is dun colored with a dark stripe along its back. Thought to be a descendent of the Tarpan, a prehistoric wild horse of Europe, the Konik was used in breeding experiments by Nazis who believed they could create a pure breed of horses, reported CNN. Since then, the hardy creatures have been introduced to wetlands where they graze on vegetation that would otherwise have to be removed by machine.

"As a natural resource, the Konik horse offers conservationists a way of saving more wildlife for less money, saving charitable organizations and the tax payer alike thousands of pounds as we recreate natural habitats," said conservationist Peter Smith to the BBC. The horses can now be seen in reserves across Europe, including at Wildwood in the UK.

NEXT: Europe's only monkey

Barbary Macaque

Although the Barbary macaques face a loss of habitat in their main dwelling locations – parts of Morocco and Algeria – they've become something of a menace on the British island of Gibraltar. In a 2005 New York Times article, Gibraltar residents complained that the monkeys dented and scratched cars, steal bread and fruit from kitchen counters and have even bitten young children. However much they might antagonize the locals, the monkeys are a huge draw for tourists, since they're they only species of monkey on the European continent. The monkeys are managed by the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society, who provide the macaques with food and water, although that doesn't stop the monkeys from begging for sugary treats from tourists. Because they've become such a problem, and their numbers on the island have continued to grow, a number of the macaques will be exported from Gibraltar to an unnamed third party, reported The Guardian. But don't worry, if you're heading to Gibraltar for the monkeys, the rest will still be there.

NEXT: Europe's largest land mammal

Bison

Bison lock horns on Feb. 17, 2009 in the Bialowieza National Park. Some 800 bison roam the Bialowieza mountains. The animals are considered living miracles after the whole population of 700 beasts was massacred by local poachers and the German divisions present during WWI. (GRZEGORZ JAKUBOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

When Europe's largest land mammal, the European bison, was declared extinct in the wild at the end of the 1920s, it seemed to mark the end of an era for European wilderness. But the bison, also known as 'wisent,' made a dramatic comeback after the 54 animals left in captivity were reintroduced to the wild in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania and Poland, reported CNN. With the largest population now in Poland, it's possible to see the skittish animals near the Bialowieza, Europe's last primeval forest, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site, said The Guardian. And with such success elsewhere in Europe, Germany is launching its own program to reintroduce bison to the wild. The project is taking place in western Germany and is headed by Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgensein-Berleburg, reported German paper Der Spiegel.

NEXT: A wild cat with snowshoe paws

Lynx

A lynx is released during the first experimental reintroduction of two Iberian lynxes in Villafranca de Cordoba, Spain, on Dec. 14, 2009. At the start of the 20th century there were 100,000 of the animals in Spain and Portugal, but the lynxes were reduced to barely 150 in 2002. (CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)

In the northern reaches of Europe, densely furred lynxes prowl silently through the snow on paws tailored specifically to the light powder. Eurasian lynxes are spread across Europe, Russia, Asia and the Himalayas and they've made a large recovery in the past 50 years, reported the World Wildlife Fund, although they still face a threat from hunting and habitat loss. The lynx might be expanding even further since the Lynx UK Trust is doing research and writing proposals to reintroduce the lynx to a forest in Scotland, reported the Telegraph.

NEXT: The largest member of the deer family

Moose

A moose licks its lips at 'Schwarze Berge' animal park, south of Hamburg, in Rosengarten, on Dec. 4, 2012. Over a thousand animals live at the park with an area of 50 hectares. (Axel Heimken/AFP/Getty Images)

With antlers so large that they're reluctant to lower their heads to the ground for low-lying food, moose might seem like a joke played on the deer family. It doesn't help that moose are occasionally seen swimming nonchalantly down streams and engaging in other shenanigans, such as the moose that got its head stuck in a tree after getting drunk on fermented apples. According to European Wildlife, the moose population in parts of Central Europe is at risk of decreasing due to hunting and shrinking habitats, but there are plenty of moose further north. There are around 80,000 in the forests of Finland, and visitors can even go on a moose adventure tour to try and glimpse the skittish animals in their natural habitat, said Lapland Welcome.

NEXT: The predators of the North

Polar Bears

If you're the adventurous, warm-blooded type to make a trek to the far northern reaches of Europe, consider going on a polar bear expedition. These colossal mammals have inspired and terrified humans for centuries and as the polar ice melts their habitat grows smaller and smaller, forcing them into closer proximity with humans. In Alaska, polar-bear proof food storage containers have been created and in Vankarem, Russia a polar bear patrol was created in 2006, says the World Wildlife Fund. In 2013 the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard even opened up the job of "polar bear spotter," a position that would require the individual to travel with scientists and locate white polar bears on the white landscape, reported the Telegraph. But you don't have to be a scientist or a polar bear spotter to catch a glimpse of the northern bears. Various travel companies offer tours into Svalbard to see the bears. Many of the expeditions take place in the summer, when the midnight sun and melting ice make the waters more easily navigable, said Natural World Safaris.

NEXT: Tusked seals of the northern seas

Walrus

The walrus's strange tusks have long made them an object of fascination among European peoples, with early records describing the animals as the "horrible swine of the germanic seas," says The Society for Marine Mammalogy. But today the creatures are much better understood and spotting one is an exciting experience because their normal habitat is limited to Greenland and the far north. When a young male walrus turned up on a Scottish island in 2013, he became the center of attention for the surprised people of Orkney. The walrus's appearance was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, reported the BBC, because walruses rarely descend so far south. For those who don't trust their patience or their luck to wait for a walrus to appear in the UK, European Arctic cruises take people up near Svalbard, Norway to view walruses and polar bears, said Fodors.

NEXT: An endangered, cloned sheep

Mouflon

Thought to be the ancestor of modern sheep, the mouflon is a reddish-coated, horned mammal that is scattered across Europe, with concentrations in Corsica, Cyprus and Sardinia. The mouflon's real claim to fame is that it became the first endangered species ever viably cloned by scientists. In a 2001 National Geographic article, a scientist named Betsy Dresser defended the decision to clone the small wild sheep by saying, "Any tool for saving endangered species is important. Cloning is just another reproductive tool, like in-vitro fertilization." Part of the reason mouflon became endangered was because of hunting, which continues today in places like Spain. For those interested in simply seeing the mouflon, they still thrive in the Mediterranean and have been introduced to many countries across continental Europe, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

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A beached whale art installation by the Belgian collective 'Captain Boomer' lies on the shore of the river Thames at Greenwich on June 20, 2013 in Greenwich, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)