"Derbyshire"

Page last revised:
11th September 2004

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DATE: ANIMAL: LOCATION:
1940s WALLABIES.. Peak District
December 1999 ALLIGATOR . Chesterfield
March of 2001 WILD BOAR . Matlock
17th October 2003 POLECAT Ripley
30th August 2004 RHEA . Codnor

 

Chesterfield
MISSISSIPPI ALLIGATOR
Chesterfield Exotica
RSPCA officers were called to rescue a five-foot alligator in December 1999 from a flat in Chesterfield, where it had been living on a pond liner in a 10-foot-square bedroom. The Mississippi alligator, which can grow up to 12 feet in length, was imported from the America to live in a British zoo, before he was sold to a pet shop and then bought by an exotics collector. However, the alligator's new owner, who did not posses a Dangerous Wild Animals Act Licence , found he was unable to cope with the reptile. The licensing system is clearly far from foolproof when an animal like this can change hands in a pub for a few pounds RSPCA Louis, as the creature has been dubbed, is now being cared for at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens, a specialist exotics centre in north Norfolk. The alligator had not been licensed so there was no way either its welfare or safety issues could be monitored.

December 1999

File: 1999-15
Ref No:

Codnor
RHEA
A Derbyshire family are trying to trace the owner of a Rhea which appeared in their garden last week. The four foot tall flightless bird wandered into the Wainwright’s garden in Codsall on Monday.

The family have contacted police and made appeals through local radio and newspapers to try and trace the owner, but no one has come forward to claim the bird. Mr Wainwright said: “It could have been abandoned. If that is the case we would like to take it …We would keep it here as we have plenty of room”.

(Source: BBC News 30th August 2004)

Contributed & Written by: Lisa Willow

File: 1587
Ref No:

Matlock
WILD BOAR
There have been several Wild Boar sighted near to Matlock in March of 2001, these are believed to be farm escapees.
More information is needed regarding these magnificent beasts

March of 2001

Peak District
WALLABIES
Possible escapees from a local mansion around 1940, The Peak Districts National Park sports a small group of which again has declined since the harsh winter a few years ago now.
Do you know anything more about our Derbyshire-Peaks Marsupials?

Ripley
POLECAT
Unlucky polecat
Ripley Today – 17 October 2003
After a 150-mile journey raking a century, a polecat has turned up near Ripley. Then the breed’s luck ran out – because it was squashed on the road. But the Wildlife Trust in Derbyshire says the discovery should be regarded as an very good sign. It is the farthest easterly sighting of polecats and evidence now shows that polecats are on the way back. Phillip Precey a local Wildlife officer said, that although the polecat was dead they regarded the sighting as good news.

At the beginning of the century, they were only found in the hills of west Wales, due to being persecuted by gamekeepers on a regular basis. They are nocturnal and solitary animal which are difficult to see, that is why most sightings are usually of dead animals on the roads. The squashed polecats are usually young males who leave their mothers. In the autumn. The trust is keen to hear from anyone who sees a polecat – dead or alive – so that they can log their return to England. The creature was largely wiped out because it ate rabbits, a popular dish among country folk in Victorian times. It also has a taste for rats and has a great ability to catch them. Polecats let out a nasty odour to deter attacks giving them the nickname of ‘Foul Mart’. They also have a nasty bite, legend suggest they keep them alive in food stores until the polecat fancies a meal. Derbyshire’s last live record was in the spring of 1900 at Bradley, near to Ashbourne.

An unlucky Polecat had also been caught in a gamekeepers’ trap and managed to escape, but did it on three legs – because one was left impaled on the trap.

(Source: Ripley Today)
17th October 2003

Contributed by: Mark Fraser
www.scottishbigcats.org
The Scottish Big Cat Society.

File:
Ref No:

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Chris Mullins

Co-ordinator
BEASTWATCH UK
info@beastwatch.co.uk