The other day, two skulls were next to each other on the trolley – a capybara and a hyena. One is the world’s largest rodent, from the wetlands of South America, the other is a large carnivore from Sub-Saharan Africa, and as such are not often found together in museums.

Capybara and spotted hyena skulls, which are surprisingly the same size. (LDUCZ-Z180 and LDUCZ-Z2589)

I was amazed that they were the same size. This inspired me to find other bits of animals that are surprisingly the same size… (more…)

Last week’s animals weren’t as exotic as their forerunners, and we will be looking at another recognisable animal for both Ancient Egyptians and Victorian Londoners. As promised, this week will be examining the horse, perhaps a not so obvious element of an Egypt based menagerie.

Petrie’s Menagerie #4 The Horse

Man’s best friend may be a dog, but man’s most useful friend is probably the horse and I won’t insult my readers by describing one.

“With the harnessing of its strength and swiftness to provide mobility, the horse transformed human existence”

Lawrence, 223.

Icelandic ponies, I spent a few holidays riding these shaggy beasts around France. copyright wikipedia.org

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