Animal Magic

The woodlark: the British songbird that is the ultimate masked singer

Its melody is sweeter than the nightingale's, yet the elusive woodlark seems destined to delight only a fortunate few.

The penguins of London Zoo: Traditionally good parents, occasionally clumsy and strictly not monogamous

'Once, the BBC was filming here and the penguins would take apart the equipment and run away with it, always the most expensive bits.'

The nativity camels: Unbelievably clever, a tad greedy and undeniably festive

‘They know we’d never take them anywhere dangerous. They trust us so much.'

The Shetland pony who goes to the races

‘The louder people cheer, the faster they go. It gets faster and faster all week – or my nerves get worse!’

The chickens of Wyken Hall: Mischievous, adorable and the best listeners a person could ask for

‘In my left-leaning youth, they would attend meetings, but my comrades voted to remove them. That was when I realised my time there was up – the chickens were very concerned about the Albanian question!’

Britain's first giant tortoises: 'They’ve been around for 200 million years - we’re a blip to them'

Adrian Graham is passionate about his pets, which can live for up to 250 years and grow to the size of a rather tall man.

Animal Magic: ‘For a while because the canal was full of buffalo – they had to close it for 24 hours to get them out!’

Rudi the otter: 'we had to convince Parliament to focus on clean water and the easiest way to do that was with a baby otter'

Affectionate and loving he may be, but small-clawed otter Rudi has a purpose.

The Devil’s Horsemen: The stallion who's starred in Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman and The Crown

Octavia Pollock visits Camilla Naprous of The Devil’s Horsemen to find out more about the horses they train for film.

Matthew Parris on his llamas: 'They’re interested in everything humans are doing'

Matthew Parris, the MP-turned-journalist/political commentator, keeps pet llamas at his home in Derbyshire. He spoke to Octavia Pollock.

Curious Questions: What's it like to keep your own elephants?

Elephants may look prehistoric but they’re sophisticated, says the Duke of Bedford. He spoke to Octavia Pollock.