This edited article about animals originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 795 published on 9th April 1977.
An Osprey
A number of our rarer creatures have been introduced from abroad. Some have re-established themselves, after having become extinct, some have been brought in intentionally, and others have arrived here by accident.
The Red Deer and the Roe Deer are the only true native deer in Britain. The Fallow Deer, now equally common, is thought to have been here since the 12th century. The Chinese Water Deer, on the other hand, are comparative newcomers to this country, as are the Muntjac and the Sika Deer, which are also natives of Asia.
The Chinese Water Deer was introduced into Woburn Park in 1900, but as a result of a number of escapes, it has established itself in some of the wooded areas of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. An increasing number of them can also be found in parts of Shropshire and Hampshire.
It is no bigger than a large dog, and both sexes are without antlers. Instead, they have two prominent tusks, which are larger in the males. It is a shy and retiring creature, and is therefore not often seen.
The Muntjac is about the same size and was also first introduced to us at Woburn Park. There have been a number of escapes, and it can now be found in parts of the Midlands and East Anglia.
The Sika Deer looks like a miniature Red Deer, and was introduced towards the end of the last century into a number of deer parks. Escapes have resulted in it being widely distributed throughout many of the Southern counties, as well as in Northern England and Scotland.
A bird which was at one time extinct in this country is the Osprey, a magnificent fishing hawk with an enormous wing span. Thanks mainly to the depredations of egg collectors, it could no longer be found here by the middle of the 19th century. Fortunately, in 1959, a pair of Osprey arrived and successfully nested in Scotland. Since then many more pairs have succeeded in rearing broods, owing to a continuous watch being kept on them by volunteer ornithologists throughout the nesting season to prevent the eggs being taken by selfish collectors.
The Osprey fishes at regular hours, generally from eight to nine in the morning, and from twelve to two in the afternoon. They are such successful fishers that the young are never short of food. Generally, they only eat the front half of the fish, leaving the rest to decay or become the prey of ravens and kites.
The Avocet is another bird once thought to be extinct in Britain, but which returned in 1947 to the Fenlands, and has since managed to re-establish itself firmly here. It is a coastal wader, conspicious for its stilt-like legs and long, thin, upturned beak with which it prods the shallows for its food which consists mainly of fish spawn, shell-fish, young shrimps and larvae.
Its nest is a mere depression in the sand or mud, or a hollow in the grass near the shore. It lays four eggs at a time, and the young are fully feathered in a few weeks from hatching. They are, however, taken about by their parents and fed for a long time before they are left to start fending for themselves.
On the wing, the Avocet holds its long legs stretched out behind in a line with the beak.
Sharks normally live in warm seas, but occasionally we are visited by Hammerhead Sharks, which wander into the cooler seas around our south-west coast.
They can be recognised by the two extraordinary hammer shaped lobes projecting from its head, each with an eye and nostril at the tip. It is an aggressive and dangerous shark, but fortunately it confines itself to deep waters.
Another monster of the deep is the Moray eel, which may well have given rise in earlier times to stories of sea serpents. The large mouth is nearly always open revealing rows of needle sharp teeth. Happily, it is rare for them to be found around our coasts.