"Manchester"

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28th April 2007

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DATE: ANIMAL: LOCATION:
17th August 2002 ALLIGATOR Greater Manchester
May 2004 SCANDINAVIAN ROBIN  
5th June 2004 PIRANHAS Middleton
14th October 2005 ? BOA CONSTRICTOR West Didsbury

 

Middleton
PIRANHAS
Piranhas in Manchester Pond
Two dead piranhas have been found in a pond in Middleton, Greater Manchester Environment Agency Officers believe they were put there as bait to attract other fish. Their tropical fish specialist, Bernie Chappel, said it was cruel as the water was far too cold, they cannot survive temperatures below 15 degrees. It is illegal to introduce non-native fish to UK waters without authorisation with a possible £2500 fine. Experts believe that the reputation of the piranha is exaggerated.

(Source: BBC News 5th June 2004)

Contributed By Lisa Willow, 8/6/2004
Writen By Paul Williams 16/08/04, http://wehrwulf.fcpages.com

File: 2004-172
Ref No: 1276

SCANDINAVIAN ROBIN
ROBINS BEWARE
A local birdwatcher was shocked when an American robin, a Scandinavian robin had flown all the way over to the UK, and finally settled down in his Manchester garden. (taking a course from Norway to England in just 15 hours) then only to be promptly eaten by the twitcher's cat. The Scandinavian robin was one of only eight seen in Britain in the last 5 years.

Comments
This isn't the only American Robin to fall victim to one of our British predators, Grimsby in Lincolnshire, also lost a Robin to a Sparrow hawk, amazingly in front of a crowd of twitchers as well, during March 2004.

(Source: ForteanTimes)
May 2004

Written by: Steve Jones

File:

Greater Manchester
ALLIGATOR
Alligator rescued from house
An alligator, which lived most of his life in a building in the back garden of a house in Greater Manchester, is starting a new life in Spain, thanks to the RSPCA. Samson, a six-foot American alligator, has lived in a purpose-built home attached to the conservatory of his owner’s house in Bury for 27 years.

Tighter legislation
Samson’s owner, who does not want to be identified, bought him as a ten-inch-long hatchling 27 years ago and imported him from the USA. Tighter legislation introduced since the 1970s has made it significantly more difficult to import such animals.

The owner, who held the necessary licenses to keep the alligator, contacted the RSPCA when Samson’s needs became too great. Chief Inspector Terry Spamer, of the RSPCA Special Operations Unit, used his contacts and found a new home for Samson at Terra Exotica, a crocodile and alligator park near Seville.

Samson was transported in a specialist vehicle, supplied free of charge by Burnt Tree Vehicle Hire, based near Shrewsbury, to Portsmouth where P&O Portsmouth kindly offered a free ferry journey to Le Havre. Samson completed his journey by road to Spain.

Growing demands
Chief Inspector Spamer said: “This man approached us after he realized American alligators could live for about 80 years. Samson has got a lot of growing and developing to do and the owner knew he would not be able to provide the necessary facilities to meet Samson’s future requirements.

“This case is a graphic example of how exotic animals don’t make good pets. The RSPCA rescues about 3,700 abandoned and unwanted exotic animals every year and it can be very difficult to find suitable homes for them. Thankfully, in this case, the RSPCA was able to help and Samson should now live quite happily spending at least eight months of the year outside, basking in the sunshine.”

17th August 2002
RSPCA Online

West Didsbury
BOA CONSTRICTOR
In the movie Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and his school-mates are tormented by a giant serpent that moved about via the school’s waterpipes – a laughable notion surely? Not for the residents of a Mancunian block of flats in October 2005; tenants were being terrorised by a ten foot Boa Constrictor!
Having been abandoned three months previous by its ex-owner, the reptile had made it’s home in the sewers of Manchester before slithering it’s way into the block of flats and being found in a toilet by a terrified resident. For a week afterwards, fraught tenants in the block of flats placed bricks on their toilet lids to stop the slippery serpent from finding it’s way into their homes. Finally, a brave resident confronted the monster and caught it in a bucket before contacting the authorities.

Exotic animal expert, Jimmy Ratcliff, commented on the situation:
“They (Boas) can swim very well and hold their breath for over twenty minutes – what is out of the ordinary is the size of this snake. It has probably been eating rats in the sewers, where it appears to have been living quite happily.”

Keith is now in the care of the RSPCA, much to the relief of flat-dwellers - who can now go about their daily business without the prospect of unwelcome guests.

The RSPCA website (www.rspca.org.uk), says that though reptiles such as snakes and lizards make for interesting and unusual pets, they require specialist care and are often very expensive to keep. Some snakes may also live to be over fifty years old! The website also says that a secure enclosure for your snake is very important – if the reptile escapes, not only could it itself at risk, but some varieties can be dangerous to people. So before you get a snake, think very hard about whether you can provide everything that it needs for a long and safe life.

(Source: Ananova News - 18th October 2005)

Written by; Gareth Kent - 27h April 2007

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