INTRODUCTION - The UK has a rich variety of wildlife, including amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals & fish. Sadly, the most likely place to find this wildlife is flattened at the edge of the road (see traffic). On the bright side, very few fish are affected in this way and the crows, magpies & other carrion birds are positively thriving (apart from the short-sided/foolhardy ones which don't get out of the way when a lorry is coming). Under "Made Up Animals (and ones we're not sure about)" you will find, dear reader, tales of creatures bizarre enough to chill your blood, make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, or make you tut & say 'Yeah right'. Charming local legends, or invented by locals who've had to much of the local brew... you decide!
REAL ANIMALS |
MADE-UP ANIMALS (AND ONES WE'RE NOT SURE ABOUT) |
| The Beast of Bodmin |
FOXES - Foxes are currently laughing all over their 
orange furred pointy faces, as hunting them has recently been banned. Unfortunately for our vulpine friends, it's only hunting them with dogs that has been banned. Farmers can therefore blow them to bits with shotguns or poison them instead.
HEDGEHOGS - Hedgehogs are cute spiny creatures, which roll up into a ball for defence.
Unfortunately for the hedgehog, this defence was evolved to protect against foxes & their ilk, not 4x4s. If enough of them survive, evolution is therefore likely to equip the hedgehog of the future with 3 meter spikes capable of puncturing tires & bending bull bars.
Australian Alternative: Echidnas
THE BEAST OF BODMIN - Much bigger than your average moggie, this huge-pawed black cat with an unfeasibly long tail was a bit of a tabloid celebrity back in the 1990s. According to Fortean Times the journal of the bizarre, sightings started in the 1960s. Similar sightings occur elsewhere in the country. There is a much older tradition of enormous black dogs, sometimes known as the 'barguest', a harbinger of doom...
PELICANS - Huge frightening great birds with a beak like a bucket. Not particulary terrifying? This one certainly did me: usually they eat fish, this one decided to gorge on a speicies nearer it's own...
For the squeamish, just read this instead; Pelican eats pigeon "There was a bit of a struggle for about 20 minutes, with all these people watching... Then it managed to get the pigeon to go head first down its throat. It was kicking and flapping the whole way down." (BBC News 25 October 2006)
RAVENS - Huge frightening great black carrion birds.
The collective noun is 'an unkindness of ravens', so they don't make a popular choice as pets. The exception being the particular specimens used to intimidate tourists when visiting The Tower of London
