Terrapin Living In Water Shock! Brits Amazed!

Continuing the topic of our cold-blooded cousins, the UK isn't really noted for it's reptilian denizens. We've got the aforementioned snakes and a few lizards scattered about, but not much else. British people tend to get quite excited when we see a gecko, cos it means we're somewhere foreign and, most likely, warm.


In fact, after a visit to Greece, your old Auntie Mabel will most likely regale you with tales of feeding a rock lizard on her balcony rather than discuss the historic architecture of Athens or the cultural impact of Grecian philosophy on western civilisation.


"Brown, he was dear, like the waiter!"


Anyway, to show that occasionally we do stock slightly more interesting things than rabbits and sparrows, I thought I would share with you some pics I took of my local disused and overgrown canal, where the following chap has resided for the past six or seven years. Presumably, he's an escapee, but apparently doesn't find our Winters too distressing:


There. Okay, how about a close up . . .


There he is! A big terrapin thing, about a foot long. No idea what type of terrapin, or if he's just a tortoise with a thing about baths, but he can be found basking sedately on a log throughout the Summer and sometimes into the Autumn.

This might not seem much to you, but I'll have you know this thing made the local paper round here. Honest.