This article was first published in the May/June 2024 issue of IQ, the exclusive magazine for Mensa members. Find out more about becoming a Mensa member here.
Few of us are probably aware that these animals can be seen in the UK and Ireland, and even fewer have been lucky enough to spot them. Get your binoculars out – here are five unusual wild creatures of land, sea and sky.
1. Wild boar
Did you know that an estimated 2,600 wild boar roam southern England and parts of Scotland? There have also been occasional sightings across the Irish Sea. These stocky, bristle-haired creatures are native to the UK and Ireland but were hunted to extinction in the Middle Ages. In the 1980s, boar meat was in vogue and farmers began importing boar from Europe. The wild population in Britain today are descendants of farmed boar, which have either escaped or been illegally released, with the largest population of them residing in the lush and leafy Forest of Dean.
As primarily nocturnal creatures, wild boar can be hard to spot, but large areas of uprooted and disturbed soil may be a sign the hogs have been nearby in search of food: mainly roots, fallen fruits and insects.
2. Scottish wildcat
Prowling some of the remotest parts of the Scottish Highlands, the Scottish wildcat is the only native cat still found in the wild in Britain. A shy and elusive creature, the Scottish wildcat is around 25% bigger than the average domestic cat, with striped fur, piercing green eyes, long legs and a bushy, black-tipped tail.
Now even rarer than tigers, Scottish wildcats are a critically endangered species – the result of habitat loss, persecution by humans and interbreeding with domestic cats, However, breeding programmes recently rolled out in the Cairngorms National Park are attempting to save wildcats from the brink of extinction.
3. Hoopoe bird
Though they are primarily found in the warmer climes of the African continent, around 100 stunning hoopoe birds show up in the UK and Ireland in spring and autumn, typically landing on the southern coast of England.
Keen birdwatchers will recognise the hoopoe bird’s light brown body, curved beak, black and white wings and, most importantly, pink feather crown that raises when they are excited. You might be more likely to hear a hoopoe than see one: its song is a soft “hoo-hoo-hoo”.
4. Orca
Their distinctive black-and-white colour and huge, curved dorsal fins make orcas unmistakable – but sightings of them in the wild in the UK are extremely rare. Orcas are present in waters all around the UK and Ireland, but they are most often sighted from the west and north of Scotland, particularly off Orkney and Shetland, where they arrive in summer to feast on fish.
Orcas acquired the threatening nickname ‘killer whale’, derived from the Latin ballena asesina, as they were observed to successfully prey upon whales much larger than themselves. Despite this unfortunate reputation, orcas are known to be highly sociable, playful and intelligent creatures.
5. Sand lizard
Reptiles aren’t the first thing to spring to mind when one thinks of British wildlife, but the UK is in fact home to three different species of lizard. Rarest of all is the sand lizard, which is most often sighted in heathland and sand dunes between April and October. The males are the easiest to spot; their vibrant green flanks are at their brightest during the breeding season in the summer months.
Due to habitat loss, the sand lizard is now only found in a few isolated areas of Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey and Merseyside, but it is currently being reintroduced in other areas of southern England, Lancashire and Wales.
