'Elves' sleep in the garden

A photographer was stunned to see the strange animal on the log in the garden.

The caterpillar in Austin Thomas's garden.Photo: Austin Thomas.

British Austin Thomas, 42, has a habit of walking around a garden pond with a cup of tea in the morning. Then on October 2, the photographer saw an oddly shaped animal on a log near the pond.

'At first I was stunned and instinctively stepped back. But then I calmed down when I realized it was a Pale Tussock caterpillar and thought I was going to have impressive photos. I took the macro lens and headed for the animal , 'Thomas told the Telegraph.

Gremlin elves in the movie of the same name was produced in 1984 in the United States.Photo: sfweekly.com.

Thomas thinks the butterfly that looks like sly goblins in the comedy Gremlins was released in 1984.

'The caterpillar began to wake up when I moved the log to a sheltered place and had more light. At that time I realized it had a hairy body and quite strange beards. It looks like a goblin in Gremlins' movie.

According to Telegraph, Pale Tussock moths are quite popular in England and Wales. They have wingspan of 40-60 cm and possess a hairy body. Caterpillars eat leaves before turning into butterflies.