大象传媒

Highland cattle - proof we are definitely in the highlands. Highland cows and highland bulls. These aren't technically wild animals but they really are amongst Bill Oddie's favourites. Come on aren't they fabulous? What he loves about this is here's an animal in exactly it's right setting. Perfectly adapted to life up in the rugged mountains, they can digest just about anything and no matter what the weather throws at them, they're fine. They sort of have two coats of hair - an outer coat of coarse hair which repels the wind and the rain, and underneath to keep them warm is the equivalent of a layer of fleece - the old layers principle works for animals as well as people. Even if you can't see the working end of the animal you can tell the males from the females. They both have horns but the males' horns tend to grow down whilst the females horns grow up and away. Probably goes back to the time when they must have been wild many centuries ago when the males had to fight one another with those. Bill can't imagine them fighting now though. Somehow they manage to look quite fearsome and yet cuddly.