Animagi. - Never Unlikely Animals?

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 45684


It seems to me (from the Animagi in the books so far)
> that its pre-determined, all the characters that are animagi share
> significant character features with their human form.. For instance
> the obvious parallels with Peter Pettigrew and rats, James Potter 
and
> Stags (generally seen as great and noble animals), and various
> others...

Well, others have talked about the predetermination/character aspect 
of Animagi, so I'll skip that.  What I thought about today was the 
fact that, of the Animagi we've seen, all fit rather neatly into 
their surroundings.  Cat, rat, beetle, dog, stag.  Why is this?  Does 
a wizard's Animagus form not only reflect traits of the human, but 
must it also fit logically into the geographic area in which the 
wizard resides?  

Or is this another plot device? Think about it - it would be a little 
tough (but I think highly appropriate) for Rita Skeeter to be 
trotting around Hogwarts as a wart hog. And, Sirius can certainly 
wander about without attracting too much attention as a dog, even 
given the Grim connotations.  But, how would he manage if his form 
was a kangaroo?  

Yes, I know wart hogs and kangaroos may seem slightly ridiculous.  
But what about a lion or a tiger or hyena or gorilla?  For that 
matter, what about other magical creatures?  Why not a dragon or a 
kelpie?

Marianne, waiting for help from the magical zoologists out there