A man in Britain went birdwatching and found an animal that ‘shouldn’t be here’. Nature news
A predator is seen living in the wild in a wooded area (stock image) (Image: Getty)
A man visited a popular tourist spot in Britain where he found an “unexpected” creature. It can be an unusual experience to meet animals that are not native to our land.
Apex predators are incredibly important to a variety of ecosystems; they are at the top of the food chain and have no natural enemies or predators. Examples include orcas, enormous white sharks, tigers, brown bears, Komodo dragons, lions, and more.
There are no apex predators in the UK, although there are animal species that dominate their respective habitats, such as the golden eagle and the red fox. So it came as quite a shock when a man in the West Midlands discovered an apex predator “living in the woods of Wolverhampton.”.
James Cook, who shares online content under the name Wildlife with Cookie, has amassed over 165,000 followers on Instagram, where he focuses on wildlife and nature.
In a recent series of videos and photographs, he outlined his quest to find “an apex predator who should not be in the UK”, suspecting he may have been brought into the country “illegally”.
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The hunter in question? The eagle owl, one of the largest species of owl, is not native to Britain. They are found naturally in Europe as well as other areas of Asia, while some species such as the spotted eagle owl are common in southern Africa.
Visitors were taking photographs of the owl after it was spotted at Wightwick Manor, a large Victorian manor house and gardens which are a popular tourist destination in Wolverhampton. Several people contacted James to verify the species.
Equipped with “camera batteries, thermal binoculars, and action cameras”, James succeeded in finding “the beast” and documented his exploits on popular social media platforms. He confirmed that staff told him the owl had been seen nearby intermittently for about three years.
Along with a series of photos, he revealed he tracked down the “top predator in the UK” and said, “It’s not every day you get to see an eagle owl in the wild, let alone one living wild and free here in the UK!” But recently, I was lucky enough to track one down in Wolverhampton, of all places?”
He described the use of thermal technology as a “game changer in animal detection” because “even owls can’t hide”.
James added: “From whatever information I have managed to gather about this beautiful-looking animal, it appears that it is female, has no ID ring on its leg and has been living wild in the Wolverhampton area for about 3 years.
“I saw a half-eaten rat on the floor beneath her, so I can only assume she’s thriving!”
Yet he “shouldn’t be here”. He said, “The Verreaux eagle owl would not be able to travel to the UK of its own free will and so is likely a pet that has been released or escaped from captivity – due to the lack of an ID leg ring, I believe he has probably been kept illegally and then released illegally.
“Although it sure is absolutely gorgeous and an unexpected sight here in the UK.”
In the comments section, fellow Instagram users were eager to express their views.
One said, “She’s very beautiful, but I can’t help but feel sad for her living alone in the UK. I won’t even reveal the location because people will harass her or try to harm her.”
Another said: “Hopefully he’s captured and not killed; if he has to be, he’s been out there surviving on his own for a while.”
A third said: “It’s great that it managed to survive in a completely different climate! Still, the poor boy or girl has no partner; that’s so sad.”
Another said: “This is a crazy cookie; what a great discovery, though.”
James said, “It’s on National Trust land; it’s safe.”
