Back in September of 2017, prolific pulp horror author Guy N Smith handed out an exclusive chapbook entitled ‘Dangerous Wild Animals In Britain’ to all of those who attended that year’s annual fan convention. Each one of these chapbooks was hand signed by Smith inside the chapbook on the first page.
Upon the same page as Smith signed the chapbook, he also provides the following explanatory introduction:
“Over the years I have contributed hundreds of articles to the sporting press, so this year I decided to share my passion for the countryside with my fans. This short article is for everyone who attends my Fan Club Convention on September 3rd 2017 with my thanks”.
Following this brief introduction Smith starts off by explaining how a number of dangerous wild animals currently live largely undetected in Britain, lurking in the rural countryside and woodlands, away from man. However, as our urban areas continue to grow, Smith warns how our limited contact with these dangerous animals will likely increase, no doubt with deadly consequences.
Big Cats – 2.5 Pages
The first section details the origin of the big cats which Smith tells us currently reside in Britain. Smith then describes a few occasions where evidence of the presence of Big Cats has been found within his own land in the remote hills of South Shropshire. The first being the sighting by a group of airgun enthusiasts who reportedly saw a large black cat chasing a muntjac deer. The second being Smith’s own sighting of the black cat, as it lurked within the tall grass of a nearby field. Then Smith tells us about two deer carcasses which he later found on his land, with the animal remains having been savagely mutilated – something Smith assures us no badger or fox could have achieved.
As a side note, in this section Smith mentions the carcass of a young deer which had had its head ripped off and discarded some 20 yards from the remains of its body (which he states would only have been done by a big cat). What the passage in the chapbook doesn’t mention, is that Smith then took the skull back home with him, boiled off the flesh, and had a photo taken with that very skull. The photo is the one which appears on the cover of this chapbook. Furthermore, the skull was made the star prize for the raffle at that year’s Fan Convention, which I was lucky enough to win. Additionally, that very skull would later appear on the cover artwork for Shane Agnew’s book ‘Guy N Smith: Illustrated Bibliography’ (2018).
Caracal – 1 Page
In this section Smith details the sightings of a wild caracal, which was witnessed on his land. The first sighting was by his daughter and her husband. Following that, unusual tracks were spotted by a local farmer. Tracks in a straight line with claws extended, a mode only used by cheetahs and caracals, Smith explains.
Wild Boar – 1 Page
Here Smith explains how wild boar have made their way back into Britain’s rural areas. Furthermore, some such wild boar have been witnessed on Smith’s land. However, Smith explains how attacks on humans are rare. Nevertheless, people should be war as wild boar can be very unpredictable and ferocious in protecting their young.
Snakes – ½ Page
For this section Smith explains how adders are the only poisonous snake in Britain. In his 40 years of living in the Shropshire countryside, Smith states that he has only heard of two incidents involving an adder bite in and around his land.
Rats – ½ Page
Here Smith briefly mentions the problem we as a country still have with rats, and the reasons why you should always wear gloves whenever you’re in contact with them.
Ticks – ½ Page
In this short section Smith details how the tick population has recently increased out of all proportion due to the milder climate conditions we’ve been experiencing. From here, Smith then tells us about the joys of Lyme Disease and the absolute importance of having any ticks properly removed.
Ants & Wasps – 1 Page
For this final section Smith tells us about his experience with a huge mass of flying ants which he stumbled across whilst out walking his dog. Following this Smith talks of a wasp invasion they later experienced, when wasps – which were much larger than a normal wasp – came into their house and stung his assistant.
DLS Summary:
Like with Smith’s previous chapbook – ‘Hunting Big Cats In Britain’ (2000) – this exclusive Fan Convention chapbook is filled with first-hand knowledgeable insight into living in the countryside. In particular we’re given details of Smith’s very own encounters and experiences with most of these creatures on his own land in Shropshire. However, it’s the clear passion by which Smith describes all of the encounters and the various witness statements that really makes this such an enjoyable and informative read.
The chapbook runs for a total of 8 pages.
© DLS Reviews
