Animal circling trap, one with dark locks (8)
I believe the answer is:
brunette
'animal circling trap one with dark locks' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'animal circling trap' is the wordplay.
'animal' becomes 'brute' ('brute' can be a synonym of 'animal'**).
'circling' indicates putting letters inside (circling can mean going around or containing).
'trap' becomes 'net' (net is a kind of trap).
'brute' placed around 'net' is 'BRUNETTE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for brunette that I've seen before include "Female with dark brown hair" , "girl unlike Goldilocks?" , "She's certainly not blond" , "Hair colour" , "Not being fair" .)