It's not what you'd expect to find at a bus stop in Gloucestershire, but that's exactly where this prickly creature turned up. The spiky beast was first sighted at the end of December - police say a number of people had reported seeing a strange animal wandering round the district over the last couple of weeks.  | | Caroline Gould |
But it eluded capture until the 8th of January when RSPCA officials retrieved it from the woods. It's now at the Vale Wildlife Rescue Centre near Tewkesbury. Staff say they hope that either the original owner will come forwards, or a new one will be found. Manager Caroline Gould said: "It's the first one we've ever had found in the wild - they come from Africa but they are kept in wildlife parks and zoos, and probably some people have got them as exotic pets. 
"They eat roots, shoots, fruit and berries - I would think he was finding enough food as he looks in quite good condition. "We're hoping that his owner will come forward but I'm surprised that we haven't heard that someone's lost one already, so maybe it's someone who's released him into the wild because they didn't have a licence. "If we can't find the owner then we'll have to find someone else who keeps them." 
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The Forest of Dean is attracting ever more exotic wildlife. First wild boar, then camels, and now a porcupine has now turned up near Bream!
