The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SQUIRREL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
Q
U
I
R
R
E
L
More clues leading to the result SQUIRREL
- Hoarder’s small slip turned into short bedcover
- Tree creature landowner observed crossing river and lake
- Parisian who wanders about gathers large hoard
- Hoarder — gentleman collecting right and left
- Landowner grabbing right and left – typical hoarder
- Local landowner’s gripping runs with large animal
- Run into landed gent with large rodent
- Hoarder keeps castle in noble line
- Local bigwig almost genuine, not a rodent
- Hoarder, one hopping between branches?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "animal" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case animal = squirrel.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SQUIRREL mean?
SQUIRREL noun- Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae distinguished by their large bushy tail.
- A person, usually a freezoner, who applies L. Ron Hubbard's technology in a heterodox manner.
- One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.
- To store in a secretive manner, to hide something for future use