5 Animals you won’t expect to see in Cumbria

1. African Spurred Tortoises

African Spurred Tortoises are the largest tortoises of the African mainland, beaten in size only by Galapagos and Aldabra (an african island) giant tortoises. Some are captured for the pet trade, but they grow rapidly when young and are soon too large for most keepers. They are vulnerable and are threatened by habitat loss and grazing competition from livestock, and to some extent capture for eastern medicine.
Snow Leopards

2. Snow Leopards

Snow Leopards are an elusive, solitary big cat native to the mountain ranges of central Asia. They are adapted well to their cold habitat, as they have thick fur, large fluffy paws, long thick tail and an enlarged nasal cavity. These keep them warm by insulating against the cold, or by warming the air they breathe through the nasal cavity.
 
3. Cotton-Topped Tamarin

This species is found in tropical rainforest edges and secondary forests. It has been found in a variety of habitats from wetland tropical forest, to moist woodland forest and dry thorn forest savannah.
Brown Spider Monkey

4. Brown Spider Monkey

Brown Spider Monkey are social monkeys known for having a prehensile tail that acts as a fifth limb. They live in social mixed gender groups of 3-22 that split into smaller groups for foraging, where they primarily search for ripe fruit.
Scarlet ibises

5. Scarlet ibises

Scarlet ibises are a distinctive red ibis native to South America. They are brown as juveniles, but as they grow they develop red patches until they are entirely red, except for a couple of black wing tip feathers, and mature.