Utter zoo

In Competition 2371 you were asked to provide rhyming couplets describing imaginary animals, involving eight consecutive letters of the alphabet.

‘The progress of the Unipod,/ As you’d surmise, is rather odd.’ This perhaps unillustratable couplet by Jeremy Lawrence is one of many splendid offerings among the runners-up. Hugh King made me smile with ‘The Umpzov, from remote Siberia,/ Is quite like Eeyore, only drearier.’ And W.J. Webster, Adrian Fry and Bill Greenwell were all in sparkling form. There was a ginormous entry, judging was pleasure mixed with agony, and I confess that sheer caprice played a part in my final decisions. The prizewinners, printed below, get £25 each, and Jill Green’s purely avian octet gains the Cobra Premium beer. Happy Christmas!

The Aardlark changed its name to be
The first bird in the dictionary.
The Bladderbill has bandy legs,
But then it lays enormous eggs.
The Chug is something of a clown,
You’ll see it flying upside down.
The