"London"

Page last revised:
11th October 2004

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DATE:	ANIMAL:	LOCATION:
1884	COYOTE'S	Epping Forest
1970's	BEAST OF HACKNEY MARSHES	Hackney
23rd October 2000	KANGAROO	Lewisham
September 2001	PYTHON	Peckham
14th July 2002	AFRICAN DWARF CROCODILES	Heathrow
13th October 2002	PURCHASE OF EXOTIC PETS	General
19th February 2004	PIRANAH	Thames
13th March 2004	AFRICAN TAWNY EAGLE	Primrose Hill
4th June 2004	HOOPOE	Mitcham Common
19th August 2004	MUNTJAC DEER	Barnet

 

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Barnet
MUNTJAC DEER
By Lawrence Marzouk
Deer have returned to Barnet, devouring flowers in gardens. Muntjac deer are orginally from China but experts consider Barnet to be a prime sign and there is plenty of evidence that they have returned.

Muntjacs are small and have easily adapted to the borough.

Robert Donaldson-Webster, of the British Deer Society (BDS), said: "The North Circular is heaving with deer. When I left the south of England in 1981 there were a large number around London but since then numbers have grown significantly."

The deer are thought to have entered along railway lines and main roads.

Clive Cohen, of London Wildlife Trust's Barnet group, was called to help a pregnant doe last year after it became trapped in a fence.

(Source: Barnet Times - 19th August 2004)

Contrbuted by: Mark Fraser
Written by: Paul Williams

Mitcham Common
HOOPOE
Hoopoe in London
Mitcham Common resident, Elizabeth Allan has spotted the majestically crested hoopoe, probably the Eurasian variety. It nests across Europe and is named after its call which carries vast distances.

(Source: Wimbledon News 4th June 2004)

Contributed By Lisa Willow, 7/6/2004
Writen By Paul Williams 16/08/04, http://wehrwulf.fcpages.com

File: 2004-169
Ref No: 1269

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Primrose Hill
FLY, FLY, FLY DELILAH
An escaped eagle was recaptured in parkland at Primrose Hill in North London after it escaped its tether. Zookeepers managed to track the African tawny eagle and were drawn ever closer by the reactions of other birds in the area. Six year old Delilah was free for just three hours before she was recaptured and taken safely back to London Zoo.

Delilah had not been working for some time and was not as fit as she would usually be, and it is believed that is why she did not get too far despite her six foot wingspan.

Zookeepers were surprised at her escape, as it would appear that she managed to untie her tether. This is unusual because a special knot is used in order to prevent the birds from untying themselves. Delilah is said to be well, although she was tired after her ordeal.

(Source: BBC News - 13th March 2004)

Contributed by: Lisa Willow
Written by: Steve Jones

Ref No: 1084

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It's thought its owner may have released it into the Thames – but it would have died quite quickly due to the cold and was most proberbly then picked up by the bird.

It was dropped onto the deck of the Thames Bubbler at Halfway Reach in Dagenham, East London – this is more than 5,000 miles away from its original home in the tropics of the Amazon River in South America.

The boats crew, suspected it a piranha – but couldn't figure out what how the ended up there.

It had only just died because it was still fresh was fresh and had marks from the seagull’s beak on its back. It was then taken to London Aquarium to confirm its species.

The Curator of the Aquarium Paul Hale, said: “It is definitely a Red Bellied Piranha, but it would not survive in the low temperatures of the Thames, and we imagine it was probably released and then floated to the surface where it was picked up by one of the hungry seagulls and deposited onto the boat.”

Red Bellied Piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri) have short powerful jaws these are lined with razor sharp that teeth capable of devouring up to 16cm of flesh with each bite.

They hunt in shoals and are capable of stripping large prey in seconds.

Experts say their reputation for attacking humans is exaggerated, though it's believed a shoal of them devoured up to 300 people when their boat capsized and sank near Obidos in Brazil in September 1981.

Attacks on bathers by these predators have increased in Brazil due to the damming of certain rivers.

However these fish cannot survive in temperatures below 15C for more than a few days – and apparently the temperature of the Thames at the moment is only 10C.

Mr Hale says anyone on the Thames would be safe.

He added: “Piranhas are generally nervous and not the ferocious killers people think they are. They prey on weak and injured animals, including fish, birds and mammals, as well as carrion.”

The body of the piranha, found on Tuesday, is now being kept in a deep freeze by the Environment Agency, who warned that it was an offence to release any non-native species into the wild.

(Source: News Scotsman.com)
19th February 2004

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AFRICAN DWARF CROCODILES
Crocodiles found in aircraft hold
Customs officials found 10 live crocodiles in the cargo hold of a plane at Heathrow. The five-feet-long African Dwarf crocodiles are a protected species and were on a journey from Nigeria to South Korea. It's believed the reptiles may have been slaughtered in Korea and their skins would have been used to make handbags.

False papers
Documents had been forged to make it look as though the crocodiles were genuine exports.A customs spokesman at the airport said: "They are some of the most endangered species on the planet, and 10 of them are at Heathrow."

14 July 2002

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PURCHASE OF EXOTIC PETS
UK Exotic's hit record level
The RSPCA has warned that the UK is being swamped with potentially dangerous exotic pets, RSPCA inspectors have been called to a record number of escaped snakes, crocodiles and scorpions.There have been almost 100 callouts in London aloneduring the month of August, to deal with deadly exotic pets.These included a rather distressed call from a gentleman who had found a rare scorpion hiding in his trousers. A 3ft crocodile was recovered from an apartment in Dagenham, Essex, that had been fed on shellfish and kept in a vivarium.And another RSPCA inspector confiscated an American snake kept in a nightclub.

13th October 2002
Sunday Mirror

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BEAST OF HACKNEY MARSHES
Well known reports of a bear-like animal, seen on the East London marshes during the 1970‘s.

1970's

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COYOTE'S
This is a long report taken from Land and Water, July 19, 1884. The superintendent of London’s zoological gardens was given a coyote that had been found in Epping Forest.[i] It was speculated that four coyote cubs had been brought to England in a ship belonging to Mr J. R. Fletcher some years previously. They were thought to be fox cubs and were released into the forest. The coyote is referred to in the report as a prairie wolf so although the story is not about the wolf it may have influenced impressions of the wolf.

21 July 1884. 10b.

A letter was sent by a Henry Foster. He criticises the previous article, claiming that his dog was recently killed and proclaimed to be a wolf.

23 October 1884. 6e.

A reply was sent to Mr Foster from Henry Ffennell who was involved in the original discovery of the coyote in Epping Forest and had some connection to the zoological gardens. He states that the animal was definitely a wolf bred and captured in the forest. It could be viewed at the gardens.

27 October. 1884. 7d.

Contributed by: Mark Fraser
Scottish Big Cats.
www.scottishbigcats.org

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Peckham
PYTHON
Six-foot Python turns up in musicians' van
(This Is London) The New Wine Church Band Musicians from a Woolwich church got more than they expected when they discovered a six foot snake in their hire van. Members of the New Wine Church Band hired the van in Peckham to transport their instruments to a wedding ceremony in Westminster, on August 26.

But it was during their return journey to the church, the former Coronet cinema site, in John Wilson Street, that the python slithered into view.

The uninvited guest was first spotted by harmonica player John Walden, who said: "I was sitting in the back of the van with our guitarist when I saw the snake. I said "Hey Jon I don't want to worry you but there is a snake beside you."

"We stopped the van and got out as quickly as we could." The five men, who stopped on the New Kent Road, called the RSPCA but kept being diverted to an answering service and eventually flagged down a passing police car. Officers spent 45 minutes trying to capture the slippery customer but it managed to evade them.

Staff at the hire company then tracked down the people who had previously used the van, who, in turn, set off from Folkestone to collect their pet. Not prepared to leave the van at the road, one band member block up crevices inside the van with paper before driving back to the church, where they were met by the python's owners.

Choir musical director Andrew Junaid said: "The blessing was the snake remained hidden during the drive to the wedding, so we actually got there to provide the music. "The last thing you expect when you rent a van is to get it complete with a live python."

September 2001

Contributed by: Mark Fraser
Scottish Big Cats.
www.scottishbigcats.org

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Lewisham
KANGAROO
Tie that Kangaroo down
By Ed Fortune
A kangaroo may be prowling Beckenham Park in Lewisham. Members of the public have claimed that the animal has been kicking pets and hiding in the undergrowth.
Lewisham Council's animal welfare department have begun a serious investigation, and though they have not seen the kangaroo, a set of prints have been found "which could be those of a kangaroo". So far they have not spotted the 6ft creature but they have found a set of prints "which could be those of a kangaroo". Jim Horn, manager at Beckenham Place Park, said a number of golfers had reported seeing the animal. He told the press: "They were visibly distressed. One claimed her dog had been kicked by the creature and came flying out of the bushes," Mr. Horn said.
A council
spokesman said officers are keeping an open mind and urged people not to go
in search of the animal.

October 23, 2000

Contributed by: Mark Fraser
Scottish Big Cats.
www.scottishbigcats.org

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