Good or bad!
I once looked after a few Baby orphan Rabbits.
And there was another time when a load of Squirrels started chasing me in a really sinister way when I was eating Chips.
Brushes with British Wildlife
One night a couple of chavs yelled at me on the streets of Cheltenham at 2 a.m.
I know a place where wild sparrows will eat from your hand.
I've fed squirrels by hand in my garden but I tend to back off when foxes and badgers appear.
I've also hand-fed a rhinoceros but it wasn't wild.
Oops, I've gone off-topic!
Sorry.
Quote: Steve Sunshine @ November 20 2010, 1:01 AM GMTGood or bad!
And there was another time when a load of Squirrels started chasing me in a really sinister way when I was eating Chip.
You saucy devil Sunshine
It wouldn't be the first 'wild adventure' involving members of a writing forum. 
Living in rural Wiltshire I have brushes with wildlife nearly every day, for instance last week there was a rough legged buzzard in the field near my house and there's previously been a herd of muntjac deer milling about.
Unfortunately most of the badgers I see are roadkill but at least it shows that there are plenty about and I nearly hit a large female Roe deer the other day when it decided to do a near suicidal leap in front of my car.
Pheasants, partridges, red kits, buzzards, kestrels, foxes, weasels, barn owls, get to see all these and more, one of the advantages of traveling to and from gigs in the evenings.
There was a rat one day in my drain outside. It didn't seen perturbed by my presence at all. What a cheeky little bastard I thought to myself. I turned on the garden hose and sprayed a few encouraging squirts on to him. He remained in situ almost as if he were enjoying it. A 30 second continuous water burst achieved an equally ineffective result. As I stood there scratching my head the said rat proceeded to drag itself out of the drain across the patio on its front legs whilst a limp rear end followed. He wasn't cheeky, he had been paralysed (probably by one of my cats).
What-a-mistaker-to-maker.
Oh how I laugh as I look back......
Quote: Will Cam @ November 20 2010, 10:49 AM GMTThere was a rat one day in my drain outside. It didn't seen perturbed by my presence at all. What a cheeky little bastard I thought to myself. I turned on the garden hose and sprayed a few encouraging squirts on to him. He remained in situ almost as if he were enjoying it. A 30 second continuous water burst achieved an equally ineffective result. As I stood there scratching my head the said rat proceeded to drag itself out of the drain across the patio on its front legs whilst a limp rear end followed. He wasn't cheeky, he had been paralysed (probably by one of my cats).
What-a-mistaker-to-maker.
Oh how I laugh as I look back......
That's one the best postings I've ever read, Will.
It almost brought a tear to my eye.
Good job I'm a heartless psychopath - or else it WOULD have done.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ November 20 2010, 10:39 AM GMTLiving in rural Wiltshire I have brushes with wildlife nearly every day, for instance last week there was a rough legged buzzard in the field near my house
That is quite cool.
Upon reading this thread title, I thought there was a new show co-hosted by Rolf Harris and Bill Oddie, in which Bill rescues an animal and then Rolf shows us how to paint a picture of said animal. Surprised it hasn't been made already.
Bristol has for many years had the highest density of urban foxes of any city in Europe. Over the last few years it's become increasingly hard to drive home at night without collecting bits on dead fox on your front bumper. This is mostly due to the increase in numbers of foxes coming into town looking for food, as the hunting ban has meant there is too much competition for it out in the sticks. So instead of the numbers being controlled by farmers and hunts, more adults are breeding cubs in the city, which then scamper out onto the road to be run over.
Was this situation at all anticipated by the government when they legislated? And if not, why not? Because I'm an idiot and I could have told you this would be the result.
Quote: Will Cam @ November 20 2010, 10:49 AM GMTThere was a rat one day in my drain outside. It didn't seen perturbed by my presence at all. What a cheeky little bastard I thought to myself. I turned on the garden hose and sprayed a few encouraging squirts on to him. He remained in situ almost as if he were enjoying it. A 30 second continuous water burst achieved an equally ineffective result. As I stood there scratching my head the said rat proceeded to drag itself out of the drain across the patio on its front legs whilst a limp rear end followed. He wasn't cheeky, he had been paralysed (probably by one of my cats).
Rats are gross, but 
We used to have foxes outside our flat most nights, but quite soon after all that fuss with the babies all the foxes disappeared. SUSPICIOUS.
What? You suspect the babies formed vigilante groups in order to drive the foxes off their turf?
Exactly.
We all know babies are evil.
The ban on hunting with hounds was of course a dismal exercise in class warfare, rather than marking a conversion to the cause of animal warfare by a government who, overturning the advice of its own experts, allowed barbaric halal and kosher slaughtering practices to continue.
Nonetheless studies have shown that low intensity hunting has no impact on the number of foxes, which is determined by the availability of suitable habitat. Hunting just means fewer animals starve.
Urban foxes are a symptom of our throwaway lifestyle which has made city dwelling so attractive to them. Once the recession really starts to bite and human city dwellers are themselves reduced to fighting over scraps of discarded pizza, urban foxes impaling themselves on the bumpers of Dr. Walkers old jalopy should cease to be a problem.