For all its humour, the recent spate of Banksy works in the capital holds an important message about coexistence and wilding. We couldn't help but search for the stories behind the species...

The big giveaway came with the final piece which shows a gorilla lifting the shutters at London Zoo to allow those animals bold enough to escape. Until then we were all wondering why, and from where, had they come.

Banksy has some previous with zoos, but that didn’t stop the social media machine at Regent's Park attempting to celebrate the act and land on the right side of the story. To be fair, modern zoos are mostly run and staffed by researchers, conservationists and others conflicted by the wish to be both distant from and up close to wild animals. It’s a tricky area and Banksy knows this, so his work falls more into education than activism.

But the idea of zoos is somewhat contradictory to the increasingly popular narrative that wants wild things to stay both wild and in the wild.

So we decided to follow Banksy’s London trail and see what stories we could find:

Mountain Goats: Up on Great Orme at Llandudno, North Wales, there roams a herd of Kashmiri goats whose roots can be traced back to the early nineteenth century. In Covid lockdown they famously wandered down to the town, presumably to find out what was going on. Their population also boomed at this time, so much so that post-pandemic the herd was broken up with many of its number ending up near Bristol, where Banksy is supposedly based. The Kashmir name for the wild goat is “Markhor”, which means “Snake eater”. This snake eater can be found at Kew Bridge.

Elephants: In 2021, a herd of 14 Asian elephants from China's Yunnan province made an unprecedented northward trek from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, highlighting the conflict between wildlife and urban areas. Factors like extreme drought, increased competition from a nearly doubled elephant population, and habitat loss due to deforestation prompted their migration. The elephants caused significant disruption, damaging buildings and crops, leading to losses of 6.8 million yuan. Authorities tracked the herd with drones to minimise conflict.

Monkeys: Early this year a troop of approximately 3,500 monkeys invaded Lop Buri, Thailand, causing significant disruption by driving away tourists and forcing businesses to close. A thriving trade hub, the city was at risk of becoming a ghost town, with Chinese investors withholding funds. Local macaques harassed customers and damaged property, leading to losses of 6.8 million yuan. Construction laws are being redrawn to manage the monkey population and revive the city's economy, which previously thrived on tourism related to the monkeys.

Wolves: According to medieval legend, Siena’s founder was Remus’s son Senio, who fled Rome with his brother Aschio. They carried a carving of a she-wolf, which became the symbol of Siena. In February this year wolves began invading the outskirts of Siena, Italy, causing alarm among residents. Sightings and pet disappearances prompted the city council to appeal for help. Factors contributing to the wolves' presence included abandoned farmland reverting to scrubland, attracting prey animals. The council advises residents to keep pets indoors.

Pelicans: The pelicans of St. James's Park are a London tradition dating back to 1664, when the Russian Ambassador gifted two to King Charles II. Over 40 pelicans have since called the park home. Currently, six pelicans - Isla, Tiffany, Gargi, Sun, Moon, and Star - reside there, often seen basking on rocks in the lake. These sociable birds are free to roam but rarely leave the lake area, although one rather mischievous pelican used to fly over to London Zoo in Regent's Park to steal fish for lunch and they will often sit on park benches next to visitors. It is not known if they visited Bonners.

Big Cats: It was revealed in May this year that DNA from a big cat in the Panthera genus, likely a leopard, had been identified on a sheep carcass in the Lake District, UK. This marked the first confirmed big cat DNA on a British carcass. Prof Robin Allaby at the University of Warwick conducted the analysis, stating it made him a "convert" to the existence of non-native big cats in the UK. The person who found the carcass reported a large black cat fleeing the scene. In 2022 strands of black animal hair found on a barbwire fence in Gloucestershire also apparently belonged to a big cat.

Piranhas: Last year Chester Zoo introduced 40 red-bellied piranhas to challenge misconceptions about the species. Aquarists aim to highlight that piranhas prefer scavenging to hunting and swim in shoals for protection. The zoo emphasises the fish's important role in maintaining aquatic ecosystems. The exhibit is part of Chester Zoo's 10-year conservation plan to reverse the decline of 200 threatened species populations by 2031, showcasing their commitment to global wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.

Rhinoceroses: Conservation NGO African Parks has this year acquired the world’s largest captive breeding operation for white rhinos, housing 2,000 animals, representing one-seventh of the global population. This initiative aims to rewild these rhinos to secure their future across Africa, addressing the threat of poaching. Over the next decade, the goal is to transfer all rhinos back to protected habitats, ensuring sustainable populations and preventing extinction. This ambitious project marks a significant opportunity for the conservation of the southern white rhino.

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