Wildlife picture of the month

 

Every month will be a post like this showing amazing and awesome animals in the British and European countryside. 

This pine marten is ready to enter the tree where it lives. "I'm going home to watch television!" said the fluffy pine marten. "Bonfire night always has people leaving nice snacks everywhere!"

Pine martens have neat homes including perfectly rounded windows! They're little predators and they eat a variety of foods. Their diet could be anything from fruit (they love berries), bugs, eggs and small animals. At times they can control the invasive grey squirrels. Pine martens belong to the mustelid family, that also includes weasels, minks, badgers, otters, wolverines and polecats. Pine martens are nocturnal, so they come out mostly at night but in summer they may venture outside during the day. Later in the year during cold months, they prefer to stay inside to keep warm and dry. 

She Wolf Night

Amarok

One of the most beautiful legendary creatures is the Amarok, a huge wolf from Inuit myths and legends. It's unlike regular wolves in many ways, and mostly because it's far bigger than other wolves. Wolves hunt in packs while the Amarok hunts alone. Ordinary wolves hunt in packs for food, but it seems frightening that the Amarok hunts humans for other reasons and not just for food. The size of the wolf indicates it's a type of monster, and it has powerful teeth and claws. In the book Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo by Hinrich Johannes Rink, who was an explorer and geologist, the legendry creature Amarok is featured there. 

One particular dark story is about a man grieving a deceased family member, who set out to kill the Amarok. When he found the creature's den, the Amarok wasn't inside but only the pups, which he slaughtered. Then he waited close by to wait for the Amarok to return. When the Amarok did return to the den, bringing a dead reindeer for her young, she discovered that her pups were dead. The Amarok rushed over to a nearby lake and pulled out a ghost from the water, which was the soul of the man who killed her pups. Once she did this, the man fell down and died. This was a story about a grieving mother Amarok who took the soul of the man who killed her offspring. 

The Amarok is not supposed to be an evil beast at all. Another story concerns a disabled boy who was treated badly by people in the village. So he went to visit the Amarok, who he hoped would make him stronger. Amarok wrestled with him until the boy's bones fell from his body and the Amarok told him that the bones had caused him to be weak. The boy was then advised by the Amarok to return each day to build up his strength. After several days of wrestling with the Amarok, the boy became so strong that he could fight against three bears and win. This made him popular and accepted by people.

This amazing wolf creature has both qualities of positive and negative. It's powerful senses can locate humans who dare go out hunting at night. The Amarok is respected and considered wise, and also found to be a healer and a killer. It's possible that the Amarok could actually be based on  far more ancient stories about the direwolf that existed millions of years ago.

She Wolf Night   

Baobhan sith

The legend of Baobhan sith is a vampire of the British Isles. It's considered to be a type of succubus and a fairy with magical powers, but these are bloodthirsty female creatures. They appear as beautiful women that can transform into ravens. They wear long green dresses to hide their feet, which look like cloven hooves. These are chilling entities with plenty of stories about them in the Scottish Highlands. 

One of these tales include three Baobhan sith who visit a group of men that stay at a small hut while travelling. All seemed happy when they danced as music was played, until the Baobhan sith became hungry and wanting blood. Most of the men died after the Baobhan sith attacked them but only one man escaped as he was holding an iron coal scuttle. 

In a different story, there was a group of hunters staying in a bothy when they were visited by Baobhan sith. One of the men noticed that the women had hooves instead of feet, so he left the bothy in panic. Later the following day, he returned only to find to his horror that all his friends were dead. Their bodies were mutilated, with wounds at the neck.

On another story, men found a cave to stay in while they were out hunting, and it got dark and the weather turned bad. With them was a young man who brought along his dog. Each man talked about his home, as they were missing their loved ones. A group of Baobhan sith were close by, listening and they were jealous that the men had wives and girlfriends. So as the men slept, the Baobhan sith entered the cave and slaughtered most of the hunters, but they were unable to kill the man who was protected by his dog. Other things can protect against them such as iron and garlic.

She Wolf Night