The screen was for two purposes, not so much fingers but keeping out grass and rodents. I will find it and post a pic.
And in Oz, snakes.
Seriously - the mechanic in my family business once found a small tiger snake wound around the flywheel fins of a Briggs. Which explained why it was hard to pull over. Fortunately he was a very strong bloke, so the snake got a bit minced, before he took the cowling off!
I've had similar problems in the past with frogs. They love to get down under the cowl and in the cool spaces between the fins. Of course, they often don't do too well once the engine starts. I got into the habit of checking around the engines before starting them.
On a side note, I've had trouble with the garden hoses in the heatwave lately. Small lizards have been squeezing into the ends of the nozzles and making their way up the hose to get moisture. You screw the end off the nozzle and out falls a lizard, sometimes two.
