Animals of UCL

The Tab interviews the big creatures on campus.


We felt that the popular Facebook page “Humans of UCL” was ignoring essential parts of UCL.

Our animal bretheren might be lacking functional thumbs but are still important members of the UCL community. We went out and asked them what they wanted to tell people.

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Leonidis

“What has been your biggest challenge in life?”

“Most certainly the fact that I don’t have a body has really been quite challenging for me. When I was a small kid I remember that I still had a body so the change to living with just a head has certainly taken time to get used to. But I try to be positive and only see possibilities!”

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Prince Tut

“What bought you to UCL?”

“British imperialism. I just woke up here one day, separated from my mom and dad as well as the rest of my siblings… now I only have my brother here. Later I have learned that it was Sir Flinders Petrie who took me from my homeland of Egypt. Yeah, that’s the one that got a freaking museum named after him for taking me and my life and claiming it for himself and calling it ‘archaeology’.”

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Andy

“Who inspires you?”

“American bald eagles. They are so… dignified, proud, brave… I once had a lecturer who was a bald eagle and he gave me a piece of advice: ‘Never take your eyes off the target’, and I have never done since.”

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Boris

“What brought you here?”

“I came to UCL because my brother was here and he loved it. We have shared everything in life and I felt lost when he started at university before me. Now we are reunited and I have met tons of birds of my kind, I really feel a sense of belonging.”

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Sharon

“What are you here for?”

“I’m here because UCLU had a free weightloss programme. I have long suffered from extreme bloating making me depressed and to compensate I ate a lot. I feel better today but I’m still disabled by my round figure. I hope that this programme will help me and I hope to inspire other fishes in the future.”

Photo: Jonas Ekblom/The Tab

Paul, John, Ringo and George

“What are you guys up to?”

“We’re just hanging, doing gorilla things. We have all experienced prejudices against primates from humans so we take comfort in being together and supporting each other. Sometimes we smoke a cigarette even though we all know its bad for us. George (far right) is a medic.”

 

Stay tuned for more Animals of UCL on The Tab!