The UK is not exactly famous for its exotic wildlife. A person would generally be right in thinking that they are more likely to see a squirrel than a panda when they go for a walk in the countryside. But things are changing! A recent survey asked people from all over the UK what unusual animals they have seen over the past six years and the results could never have been predicted! Appearently, there have beenaround 10,000 sightings of unusual animals since the year 2000! Nearly 6,000 people said they had big cats, 3,500 had seen sharks and others had seen; wallabies, snakes, crocodiles, pandas and even a penguin! The increased amount of unusual animals may be a result of many things, including climate change , zoo thefts and animals escaping from captivity. Chris Mullins, of Beastwatch UK said, " It is clear that the UK contains more exotic animals than the public could ever imagine!" Some of the more weird sightings included a piranha in the River Thames and someone even found a chinchilla in a postbox!