In an effort to counteract all the Guinness I have been consuming, I've been trying to jog regularly in Regent's park. Regent's park is a ten minute walk from the flat, and it is a gorgeous park, founded originally by Henry the Eighth as a hunting ground. It was in Regent's park on Sunday that I had my first sighting of British wildlife: a squirrel.
I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but London is limited when it comes to the animals. You see the occasional pigeon, and even rarer still, the person walking their dog, but that's about it. I had been in London for about three weeks when I realized: hey! where are all the squirrels? I hadn't seen one yet, and as an animal lover, it was starting to bum me out that there were no animals to be seen. I asked my roommates about the lack of squirrels; they didn't care that much. I even looked it up online- yes, there are squirrels in Britain, but I just hadn't seen any yet.
So when my roommate and I jogged into Regent's park for the first time, I stopped dead in my tracks. My roommate looked back at me. "Stopping already? Man, you are out of shape."
"No Beth," I said. "Look- a squirrel."
And there it was, a squirrel, chewing on something or doing what squirrels do. My roommate rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed, but I watched it, delighted. Finally! There are animals in this city! I had missed them so much. That squirrel sighting made my day. If you are an animal lover, I'm sure you would understand. And if you don't like animals, I apologize if you found this post ridiculous.
4 comments:
Not ridiculous at all. Quite charming, Annie. In fact a London pal of mine adores the squirrels too (even the American "greys" which are invasive but nontheless charming), and she co-writes our blog, www.greyandred.blogspot.com, devoted to squirrels.
Keep feeding and appreciating them, and tell our friends across the Pond they're not all bad, not at all!
Dear Annie,
I'm glad you're getting attached to squirrels. You'll be overwhelmed when you visit Wrays Landing again. We are breeding a super-squirrel, which will probably take over the country and may even overwhelm those in England.
Charlie, Fr. Pat's Jack Russell, takes the credit. He is now a six-time Ace, having sent 30 squirrels to nut heaven. This has eliminated the old and slow squirrels, leaving only the quick and smart ones to breed.
We do not take this process lightly. Fr. Pat gives each victim a burial at sea with full military honors...well, in the canal, which is salt water. Evidence that the development of the super-squirrel is that Charlie rarely catches one anymore, even tho the numbers appear near constant. I expect we'll spy one with a tiny cape some day, and it may well take Charlie on.
Love, Poppy
We have several Squirrels living in our car park. Foxes too.
I found your blog while googling for London history blogs and I had to pause to mention: That is probably an American squirrel! American gray squirrels are an invasive species in the UK.
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