Move over rat and pigeon spottings, and make way for these encounters with London’s wackier wildlife.
London is the UK’s biggest jungle. It is estimated that over 13,000 species of wildlife roam the city, including many that you probably wouldn’t expect to call the capital their home. This has inevitably led to some unexpected encounters. Here are some of our favourites.
Beavers
The beavers who call Ealing their home are a recent addition to the capital’s diverse wildlife roster, having just arrived in 2023.
The Ealing Beaver Project was introduced to help alleviate flood risks, enhance water quality and encourage biodiversity in the capital. Today, eight beavers call the wetlands home, with two being babies who joined the family just last year. Şeniz Mustafa, the project’s urban beaver officer, recalls an occasion where she witnessed the beavers communicating.
“When beavers get scared, they slap the water with their tails to signal a threat to the others. I was leading a beaver safari and I heard this massive smack – the beaver hadn’t realised we were there!”
Beavers are matriarchal creatures, and Şeniz describes the mother beaver at the Ealing project as sassy, and the teenage daughter as independent. The father is extremely food-driven, with a particular weakness for apples and carrots.
Wild Boars
There is ongoing debate about whether wild pigs should be reintroduced to the UK. Wild Boars were hunted to extinction in the 17th century. These days, conservationists welcome the opportunity to reintroduce one of Britain’s lost native species, while others are less enthusiastic due to their destructive tendencies.
Unfortunately for those in opposition, the matter has already been taken out of their hands. Up to 4,000 feral boars already live in the UK. These free-roaming pigs are often either escapees from farms or the result of illegal releases.
While there is not a stable population of feral squealers in London, sightings of pigs-gone-rogue have occurred in the capital, particularly in leafier suburbs.
Such an encounter caused chaos for Nancy Curzon, a research director. “In June 2020, after Covid restrictions were lifted, we were walking with the family along a narrow towpath of the River Lea,” she says. “Out of nowhere a giant black boar barged past us. We were shocked but thought it was hilarious.
“My sister-in-law ran to take a photo, but the boar collided with the side of a fence and disturbed a wasp’s nest hidden in the wildflowers.
“Seconds later, a thick black swarm was chasing her down the path like a cartoon and she was screaming, throwing her backpack and phone into the river. As the wasps came in our direction, motherly instinct kicked in and I stayed with my eight-year-old daughter who ended up with a few stings. My sister ran to safety with my son.
“The boar bolted off into the distance.”
Parakeets
Ever seen a flash of green against London’s gray rain clouds? If you have, you weren’t hallucinating – London is home to more than 50,000 ring-necked parakeets.
With lime green bodies and eyes the colour of mangoes, these cheeky birds have made a name for themselves in London’s parks. Rumours about how they came to live in the capital have emerged over the years – some say Jimi Hendrix released a mated pair in the sixties, while others believe the first birds escaped from George Michael’s private aviary. It was these rumours that initially inspired Nick Hunt, author of The Parakeeting of London: An Adventure in Gonzo Ornithology, to investigate the parrot species.
“I was visiting a friend in Greenwich when I saw a bright green bird in the garden,” Hunt says. “It was like a weird little miracle. I wasn’t sure I’d actually seen it and I didn’t tell anyone because it was so out of place.”
This moment began Hunt’s love affair with the birds, and inspired him and photographer Tim Mitchell to create their book. The pair observed parakeets’ behaviour and interactions, looking to discover how these birds fit into the city’s rich tapestry.
“We found a woman from Thailand; she was standing like a statue with squirrels all around her feet and parakeets all over her arms. She told us she was homesick, and she came to the park to be with the birds because they reminded her of home.”
Pelicans
In many of London’s parks, mallards, swans and geese can be found munching on bread and attacking small children. In St. James’s Park, just a stone’s throw away from Buckingham Palace, things are a little different. Exotic water birds such as mergansers, shelducks and goldeneyes can all be found in the ponds, but perhaps most notable of all are the pelicans.
Great White Pelicans are typically found in the lakes of Africa and South Asia, yet a small scoop (the term for a group of pelicans) of these slightly terrifying water birds have lived in London since 1664. Originally a gift to King James from the Russian Empire, the scoop began a tradition of exotic animals being gifted to the park.
The present scoop are not descendants of the original Russian birds and were instead donated by various wildlife trusts. Prague Zoo donated three of the six birds, but despite their captive origins, they are free to do as they please in the park. They have been known to cause chaos, snatching up everything from sandwiches to other birds with their giant beaks.
Taking a glance at these exotic birds was a bucket list activity for Andrew Waud, a bird photographer from New York City.
“I took up photography after my retirement. I chose birds because I live next to Central Park, which has a huge variety of them – similar to St. James’s in London,” he says. “I have relatives in the UK, so whenever I visit I include birding in the itinerary. I’ve photographed the pelicans twice now. They’re one of my favourites because of their interesting history and unique behaviour.”
Aesculapian snakes:
If you’re walking by Regent’s Canal, you might be lucky enough to spot the infamous ‘Camden creatures’: a colony of Aesculapian snakes who lurk in trees overhanging the water.
These are large, non-native snakes found only in London and Colwyn Bay in Wales. Aesculapian snakes are native to mainland Europe, and how they got here remains unclear. It is commonly believed that they were escapees from London Zoo, but the zoo claims they actually escaped from another nearby animal facility. The snakes have been here for quite some time. They garner press every couple of years, each time labelled a new phenomenon, but sightings go as far back as 1998.
A 20-strong colony of large snakes living on one of London’s most popular walking spots – sounds terrifying, right? Well, according to professor Wolfgang Wuster, an amphibian specialist and venom expert, you have nothing to worry about.
“Aesculapian snakes are normally quiet and docile, and just go about their business,” he says. “They won’t bite unless you pick one up – but even if you do get bitten, it’ll hurt vastly less than being bitten by a hamster. Encountering one around Regent’s Canal should be a source of wonder and appreciation, not worry.”
In Wurster’s home country of Wales, the snakes have even gained a positive reputation for themselves. “At one point, the press started circulating scare stories about how these snakes were getting into the roofs of houses, and how scary that was. The local Facebook group was full of comments along the lines of ‘What’s the problem? I get them in my garden all the time, and they are great!’”
Header Image by Spitalfields City Farm by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0