Beastwatch Uk

T

Triptych

At the Start
Joined
Jun 2, 2003
Messages
855
Results of a survey recording the number of exotic animal sightings in the UK over the past 6 years have been released and the sightings include:

5,931 big cats
3,389 sharks
332 wild boars
51 wallabies
43 snakes
13 dangerous spiders
13 racoons
10 crocodiles
7 wolves
4 eagles
2 red pandas
2 scorpions
1 penguin :what:

I haven't ever seen anything remotely exotic on these shores and the closest I can get is the friend of a friend who claims to have seen a panther. Has anyone else ever seen anything that shouldn't really be here?
 
:lol: :lol: Very good Brian!!

There is supposedly a wild boar population in Kent, according to my uncle that is. I've been told there's a wild parrot population somewhere in London too - I wonder would they be interested in a stroppy African Grey to join their group?!
 
A guy I know told me that there are a bird population in Kent (he lives there) that have inter bred with budgies and they fly around just like sparrows but in beautiful colours???? he was sober too..

In a place called Roath park lake in Kairdiff they have rather large Terrapins or should that be TERROR-PINS chucked in there, when it was an in thing to own one and were small, now grown of course....... :o
 
There were - and maybe still are - wallabies both on Dartmoor and in Derbyshire. Wild boars are probably escapees, although I thought that some had been put into the New Forest deliberately, in an effort to repopulate it? I also thought that wolves had been reintroduced somewhere?

Unfortunately, a lot of the other creatures are the result of people either losing their displays from private zoos/collections, having them stolen and then lost, or irresponsible twits buying exotica which they then can't keep, and releasing them 'into the wild'.

I have occasionally glimpsed the odd male pervus flashitatus skulking in deep undergrowth. It can be startled quite easily, though, and is particularly nervous if approached by men in dark blue uniforms.
 
I gather it tends to be the shrivelled variety, rather than the young colt version too, Jon.
 
That's sadly been my experience of the sightings to date, Pee. The reason seems to be that most flashitatuses have been rejected by the herd, often for being unsanitary, displaying signs of weirdness and anti-social behaviour, etc. They therefore live lonely lives, feeding poorly and remaining ungroomed by a mate, and therefore looking shabby and unkempt well before their time. They sometimes make tentative attempts to join in herd activity when sighting Scout tents, swimming pools, and school sports days, where they are usually swiftly attacked by the Alpha Female, protecting her young.
 
I think most on the list are known of, but..... Crocadiles!!! where on earth did this one get seen? I might try and investigate. Penguins looks bizaare to and they are occasionally nicked from zoos. There's a Red Panda at Chester zoo. There are definately Wallabies in Derbyshire as had been mentioned. Spiders, Scorpions and snakes periodically show up in banana crates that's well documented. The spiece of shark is of course the critical bit
 
A few years back a Flamingo turned up at Poole PArk, noone knew where from - they asked everywhere and none of the known collections were missing one.... it stayred for a few months and stayed bright pink,so they must go pink from manky algae and glass filled lake water as well as prawns......
 
I once saw a human in Ibrox
eek.gif
 
There's a large population of parakeets in Brussels, including one flock in my area.

HT :lol: :lol:
 
Crocodile update -

Don't go fishing in the Stroud water canal ;) For 'tis there that the mercurial crocadile is alleged to live
 
The penguin, as I recall, had been stolen from the zoo by a student. It didn't state whether the student lived in halls of residence, rented or owned accommodation.
 
The Beastwatch site is here. You can find out what 'beasts' have been seen in your area.

Not much around here, but allegedly four big cats near Highworth in 2002. I'll be extra vigilent in the woods with the dogs :lol:
 
In August 2003 there was a sighting by a marine biologist of a Great White shark off North Devon at Croyde Bay and here off Widemouth Bay a mako shark (maori for man eater) was seen three or four weeks ago.
 
There are several species of Shark, some quite large, around British waters. My family on my fathers side, use to be fisherman, owning most of the trawlers in and around Torbay. My dad has several photos of his brothers posing with a huge shark that was caught in Torbay during the late 50's.

I notice in that list that it has ' eagles' noted. I expect some people have got quite confused. This year I have seen many sightings of the fantastic Red Kite. They were nearly driven to extinction in this country, but now they are back and the breeding programmes are going really well. There are loads around Oxford and recently I have been stopping by at a place near Wantage to view a family who often come close to where I stand. They are handsome birds and have huge wingspans, much bigger than a buzzard or the more common birds of prey. To someone who didn't recognise the species they would come across as eagles, without a doubt.


The penguin that Brian mentioned, I believe was taken from a fairly new place in Torquay called the Living Coast.
 
Poor wee thing - I read about some goon stealing it. I'm suprised that it's managed to keep itself alive, but it needs to regain its little colony, surely, to get through winter?
 
There is certainly a thriving Red Kite population in the Thames Valley - as you say Diminuendo, it's great to see the birds of prey back in the area again. There are quite a few kestrels and buzzards about too. Not quite as impressive as the vultures & eagles that are fairly common around here but good to see nonetheless!
 
After just typing ' penguin stolen' into my google box, I am amazed to see how many have been nicked from all over the world. People can't be satisfied with the chocolate variety.
 
Back
Top