Commuters on the Brighton to Victoria line are being encouraged to raise their weary heads from The Da Vinci Code and look for wildlife instead.
According to the Telegraph, the train operators are to give out free wildlife guides on 10 of the country's busiest routes, including the Brighton one. Among the fauna on offer are:
... herons, cormorants and gulls on the Thames at Battersea, foxes and grey squirrels in the suburbs and muntjac and roe deer in the crops on forest fringes near Gatwick.
The Telegraph is, however, more sceptical about the claim that rabbit can be seen nibbling the grass beside the line. True enough, this does sound about as likely as giraffes on the Westway. But you never know.
The project is a tie-up with the RSPB and the Mammals Trust and is designed, in that dread phrase, to "raise awareness" of the wildlife around us. But where are the foxes? Foxes are easily the most widespread wild mammal on the urban stretches of the line - Londonist spotted one headed out of Fenchurch Street a while back.
Similarly, when will a Tube version be released? Page one: mice. Page two: a trapped pigeon. Page three: a busker's dog. Page four: er ... that's it.
Do you have any more exotic wildlife-in-London stories?
Update: The BBC has a picture gallery of what you might see ... on all the lines except the London one.
