For my two characters, I want their attire, as well as their movements and personalities, to reflect the animals and creatures they have learned to live with in the woodland. This means researching: what animals were native to England in the 16th century, which lived in woodland, what they were/are like (movement, habits, characteristics etc) and how my two characters may use them (such as furs, cooking etc).
My first main thought was the British Red Fox.
According to the British Wildlife Centre website, (http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk) the British fox is native to England and so I can use them for my studio work project and they will fit in with the 16th century setting.
Foxes are very common in folklore from around the world, and are particularly perceived as the antagonist in children's stories such as The Gingerbread man, The Sly Red Fox and the epic poem Reynard the Fox. "Such stories typify the stereotype that foxes are cunning and deceitful, but also successful and to be admired. In language, to fox means to trick or deceive. It can also be used to refer to a cunning or deceitful person, though more recently a fox or foxy can be used to refer to an attractive woman."
"The fox has lent its name to many dozens of plants...The most obvious fox-plant link is the foxglove. The name stems from the belief that foxes wore the flowers as gloves on their paws."
It is popular belief that foxes kill for pleasure, this is something I was always told growing up, however, the fox website disputes this myth.
"This accusation is untrue: foxes do not kill for fun. Most animals need to find food every day to survive. Some nights are better than others in terms of food for a fox so, given the opportunity, foxes will always kill surplus food and cache (bury) it, to eat on another night when hunting is less good. This is a very successful strategy for surviving in the wild.
However, when a fox breaks into a hen house it is surrounded by easily caught prey. Its normal behaviour, and a good survival strategy is to kill all prey available and try to cache it. Given the option, the fox will come back for the remaining corpses and cache them."
I can use these facts when forming my characters, create a den for them within my environment to show where they store their food.
"...since foxes travel and hunt on their own, they are said to be solitary animals. This is not to say that they avoid other foxes but to exemplify the fact they do not hunt in packs like some other canids, such as wolves."
"Foxes are territorial animals, i.e. they defend the area where they live against other foxes. That said, the use of scent marking to delimit their own space is a very effective way of communication and neighbours normally avoid meeting each other. If neighbours do meet, these encounters are generally benign, avoiding direct fights. Foxes are more aggressive towards strangers rather than other neighbouring foxes."
All above quotes taken from www.thefoxwebsite.org
I also managed to find a recording of a Red Fox which I could use within my animatic as ambient sounds.
http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/British-wildlife-recordings/022M-W1CDR0001493-0900V0
My first main thought was the British Red Fox.
According to the British Wildlife Centre website, (http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk) the British fox is native to England and so I can use them for my studio work project and they will fit in with the 16th century setting.
Foxes are very common in folklore from around the world, and are particularly perceived as the antagonist in children's stories such as The Gingerbread man, The Sly Red Fox and the epic poem Reynard the Fox. "Such stories typify the stereotype that foxes are cunning and deceitful, but also successful and to be admired. In language, to fox means to trick or deceive. It can also be used to refer to a cunning or deceitful person, though more recently a fox or foxy can be used to refer to an attractive woman."
"The fox has lent its name to many dozens of plants...The most obvious fox-plant link is the foxglove. The name stems from the belief that foxes wore the flowers as gloves on their paws."
It is popular belief that foxes kill for pleasure, this is something I was always told growing up, however, the fox website disputes this myth.
"This accusation is untrue: foxes do not kill for fun. Most animals need to find food every day to survive. Some nights are better than others in terms of food for a fox so, given the opportunity, foxes will always kill surplus food and cache (bury) it, to eat on another night when hunting is less good. This is a very successful strategy for surviving in the wild.
However, when a fox breaks into a hen house it is surrounded by easily caught prey. Its normal behaviour, and a good survival strategy is to kill all prey available and try to cache it. Given the option, the fox will come back for the remaining corpses and cache them."
I can use these facts when forming my characters, create a den for them within my environment to show where they store their food.
"...since foxes travel and hunt on their own, they are said to be solitary animals. This is not to say that they avoid other foxes but to exemplify the fact they do not hunt in packs like some other canids, such as wolves."
"Foxes are territorial animals, i.e. they defend the area where they live against other foxes. That said, the use of scent marking to delimit their own space is a very effective way of communication and neighbours normally avoid meeting each other. If neighbours do meet, these encounters are generally benign, avoiding direct fights. Foxes are more aggressive towards strangers rather than other neighbouring foxes."
All above quotes taken from www.thefoxwebsite.org
I also managed to find a recording of a Red Fox which I could use within my animatic as ambient sounds.
http://sounds.bl.uk/Environment/British-wildlife-recordings/022M-W1CDR0001493-0900V0
Badger - Meles meles
The badger is the largest member of the Mustelid family and Britains largest land carnivore. They are nocturnal, emerging at dusk in summer to spend the night foraging. In winter they are much less active but do not hibernate. They live in social groups of 4 - 12 adults and when not active they lie up in an extensive system of underground tunnels and nesting chambers known as a sett. The female is called the sow, the male the boar.
Badgers are now protected by a number of laws. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 consolidated past legislation, which had made badger baiting and digging illegal and in addition made it an offence to damage, destroy or obstruct their setts.
This protection has enabled the UK badger population to dramatically increase to the point where it is said to equal that of the red fox. The issue of the badgers role in the transmission of bovine tuberculosis to cattle is very controversial, there are other factors apart from badgers which need to be studied before a final conclusion can be reached.
Origin:
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Native.
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Size:
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Head/body : about 75 cm, tail 15 cm.
Weight 8 - 9 kg in spring, 11 - 12 kg in autumn |
Description:
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Thick set, round-backed, very powerful. Black & white striped face. Coarse, grey body fur, black on legs.
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Habitat:
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Favour woodland close to arable farmland. They prefer a well drained soil and often dig their setts under matted tree roots to provide stability to the soil.
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Nest:
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Nest chambers in the tunnels are lined with dry grass, bracken and straw. Bedding may be taken to the entrance of the sett in order to air in the sun.
Fox - Vulpes vulpes
The fox is a remarkably adaptable and successful animal found, where food is plentiful, in almost every habitat. It is a success because it is willing to eat almost anything and has become particularly adept at surviving alongside man in farmland and urban areas. With its bushy tail, large ears and narrow muzzle, the fox is unmistakable. The coat colour can be extremely variable - usually reddish-brown on top with lighter undersides, but much darker or even silvery forms are not uncommon.
The mating season is December to February when the vixen can be heard at night uttering its eerie, high pitched scream. Four or five cubs are born in the Spring and the female fox stays with them in the 'earth' for two weeks, fed by the dog fox. They remain with their mother until Autumn when they disperse to find territories and mates of their own.
Lynx
New Evidence of Lynx in Medieval Britain
A recent study has brought important insights into the history of the Eurasian lynx in Britain. It was once thought that the lynx became extinct here over 4,000 years ago, as a result of natural climatic change. However, subsequent studies have brought the extinction date forward. Most recently, scientists have used radiocarbon dating to age lynx bones found in a cave in north Yorkshire. The youngest of these are thought to be from around 1,500 years ago, bringing the extinction date into medieval times. This is significant, as it strongly suggests that human factors such as hunting, deforestation and declining prey populations caused its extinction in Britain.
This new evidence has even been of interest to linguists. A 7th century lullaby in the ancient language, Cumbric, contains a list of animals killed by a hunter. There had been some uncertainty about the identity of one of the animals in the poem, and the lynx was generally dismissed as a candidate, as it was thought to have been long-extinct by the 7th century. But these findings make it much more feasible that the animal being referred to, llewyn, was in fact a lynx as some scholars had thought.
The lynx is the largest of northern Europe's two feline species (the other is the wildcat), but weighing around 20 kg it is harmless to humans. It is very much a woodland animal and its main prey is the roe deer, although young red deer, the introduced sika deer and foxes also feature in its diet.
Under the EU Habitats and Species Directive, member states including the UK are obliged to investigate the desirability of restoring native species that have been wiped out by humans. Successful re-introductions have already taken place in several parts of Europe, including France and Switzerland. With plenty of prey, and increasing habitat, there is a strong case for such an investigation in Scotland.
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