Banksy's animal murals take over London

Elusive street artist Banksy has unveiled a new mural in London, marking his eighth animal-themed artwork in as many days. The last piece depicts a rhino climbing into an old silver Nissan Micra, with a traffic cone on the hood to mimic another rhino. This follows a series of murals featuring a goat, elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans, a cat and swimming piranhas, all of which have appeared in various locations around the capital.

The rhino mural was discovered on the side of a building on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south-east London, near a yard used by waste disposal company RMS. The artwork was designed to give the illusion of the rhino climbing into a car parked next to the property. A jump has since been placed next to the mural.

Banksy has been sharing his animal artwork on Instagram daily since August 5, with no captions or location details. The artwork varies in detail, with some pieces being silhouettes and others, such as the school of fish and rhinoceros, being more detailed, suggesting the artist may have had more time to plan and execute these designs.

The first piece in the series depicted a goat with rocks falling below, painted in Banksy's stencil-style silhouette near Kew Bridge in southwest London. Then two elephants with their trunks stretched towards each other near Chelsea, three monkeys swinging on a bridge over Brick Lane and a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham, which was stolen shortly after the his revelation

Residents in Walthamstow, north-east London, woke up to a mural of pelicans stealing fish from a chip shop sign. A sprawling cat in Cricklewood, north-west London, was painted on a billboard and was quickly removed by contractors over safety concerns. The week concluded with the appearance of piranhas swimming near London's Old Bailey.

The frequency of Banksy's recent works has led to speculation about the meaning of the series. Some suggest that the artist's intention is to bring some joy to the public during a time of widespread unrest in the UK.