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INSTRUCTIONS: Find your species, and write an accessible fact for it! 

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INSTRUCTIONS: Find your species, and write an accessible fact for it! 

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Learn about Animals (mammalweb.org)

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Bank Vole

Scientific name: Myodes ( Clethrionomys) glareolus

Family: Cricetidae

Appearance: The Bank Vole is generally mouse-like in appearance but is stouter with a rounder head and small eyes and ears. Its tail is also much shorter than a mouse being around two thirds the length of its body. Its fur is a warm red-brown colour with greyish underparts.

Natural History: The Bank Vole lives in woodland and hedgerows in an underground chamber that is lined with moss and feathers where it will store food for the winter. Its diet consists mainly of buds, seeds, leaves and fruit but will occasionally take small insects. Bank Voles are active at any time of day or night and throughout the year, they are solitary and males and females have their own home ranges. Breeding begins in March and continues through to October - or later in mild winters. Females will mate with the dominant males in the local population and may produce 8 or 9 litters of up to 4 young per year. The pups are born blind and helpless but develop rapidly and are weaned at between 20-25 days. They are sexually mature by the age of 8 weeks. Bank voles are an important dietary item for many species such as stoats, weasels, kestrels and owls.

Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

Brown hare

Scientific name: Lepus europaeus

Family: Leporidae

Appearance: Hares are larger and leaner than rabbits. They have longer legs and longer, black-tipped ears. Their fur is golden-brown.

Height: 70 cm Weight: 4 kg

Natural history: Brown hares are found in grasslands and woodland edges, where they graze and eat bark. They are very fast runners, reaching top speeds of 70km/h. rather than burrowing, hares typically shelter in depression in the ground called "forms".

Hares communicate warnings, challenges and interest in each other with thumps of their feet or twitches of their ears. In spring, males are often seen fighting by "boxing" over females.

Changing agricultural practices and shooting have caused hare declines in the UK. As a result, they are a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

(C) Corine Bliek (shared under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license)

Cabrera's vole

Scientific name: Microtus cabrerae

Appearance: Long, thick, brown-olive back and yellow-toned underbelly, coat has some longer hairs.

(C) Klaus Rudloff / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / www.biolib.cz

Crested porcupine

Scientific name: Hystrix cristata

Appearance: Description coming soon.

(C) Drew Avery (shared under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license)

Eastern hedgehog

Scientific name: Erinaceus concolor

Appearance: Similar to Western hedgehog but identifiable by a white spot on its chest.

Eurasian Elk

Scientific name: Alces alces

Family: Cervidae

Appearance: The Eurasian Elk resembles the moose ( Alces americanus) to which it is closely related. It has humped shoulders, long legs and a relatively short tail. Elk have elongated, bony heads with a broad, overhanging muzzle and large ears. They also have a pendulous flap of skin and hair that hangs beneath the throat which is known as a 'bell'. Males are larger than females and have broad, flattened antlers which are shed in winter and regrow in spring and summer.

Size: Height at shoulder 140-235 cm; Head and body length 240 - 310 cm; Tail 5-12 cm; Weight 380-700 kg (males), 200-360 kg (females)

Natural history: Elk are most active at dawn and dusk. Their diet consists mainly of trees, shrubs and herbs but in the winter they will also eat twigs and bark. Elk also eat aquatic vegetation and, being strong swimmers, will enter lakes and rivers to get to food. Generally solitary, they may form small groups during the winter. The Elk rut (mating season) takes place in September and October when the males put on elaborate displays and sometimes fight to gain access to females. The young are born between May and June, usually a single calf although occasionally twins. The juveniles stay with their mother until she next gives birth when they are driven away.

It is thought that the Elk may have survived in Scotland until around 900 CE but habitat loss and hunting eventually drove it to extinction in Great Britain. It survives in parts of northern and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, northern China and possibly Mongolia.

(C) Tim Ellis (shared under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license)

European mouflon

Scientific name: Ovis ammon OR Ovis gmelini musimon

Appearance: Males are red-brown with a white saddle patch, females are brown, males have helix-shaped backward-curving horns.

Field Vole

Scientific name: Microtus agrestis

Family: Cricetidae

Appearance: The Field Vole is similar in appearance to the Bank Vole ( Myodes (Clethrionomys) glareolus) but is much greyer in colour without the warm, russet tones of the Bank Vole. The Field Vole also has a shorter tail, about half the length of its body, and shortish ears which are hairy on the inside and hidden in its long, shaggy fur.

Natural history: The Field Vole can be difficult to see in the wild as it inhabits areas of long grass and the damp margins of marshland. It is active all year round and throughout the day although activity may peak at dawn and dusk. Its diet is mainly made up of grass roots and shoots. The breeding season starts in March or April and runs through to September/October. A female may produce up to seven litters a year which range in size from 1 to 8 young. The juveniles are weaned after 2 to 3 three weeks. Like Bank Voles, Field Voles are a major food source for a wide range of predators, so although populations grow rapidly in spring and summer turnover is high.

Image by Fer boei, CC BY-SA 3.0

Grey Squirrel

Scientific Name: Sciurus carolinensis

Family: Sciuridae

Appearance: Larger than the red squirrel, greys are coloured as their name suggests. White individuals are occasionally reported.

Body length: 42-55 cm Tail length: 19-25 cm

Weight: 400-600 g

Natural history: Grey squirrels are invasive in the UK, having been introduced from north America by the Victorians. Populations have spread from southern England and Edinburgh/Glasgow. Grey squirrels carry a parapox virus which they are resistant to, but which is lethal for native red squirrels. Consequently, greys have displaced reds from much of Britain. Grey eradication programs are essential to protect red squirrels at the edges of their ranges.

(C) Jimmy Edmonds (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

House Mouse

Scientific name: Mus ( musculus) domesticus

Family: Muridae

Appearance: The House Mouse is greyer than both the Wood Mouse and the Yellow-necked Mouse and has smaller eyes, ears and hind feet. Its tail is naked and it has a more pointed nose than other mouse species.

Natural history: The House Mouse is nocturnal and is active throughout the year. It lives either in burrows in the ground or - if in buildings - in drains, roof spaces or behind walls. It can breed at any time of year with each female capable of giving birth to between 5 and 10 litters a year each containing 5-8 young. The juveniles reach sexual maturity at just 5 or 6 weeks old. Will feed on almost anything if indoors, outdoor populations eat mainly grain.

(C) Andrew Reding (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

Jackdaw

(C) hedera.baltica (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

Also known as: Western jackdaw, Eurasian jackdaw

Scientific Name: Corvus monedula

Family: Corvidae

Appearance: Jackdaws are the smallest British crow with a more noticeable blue sheen to their feathers and pale eyes.

Body length: 34 cm

Weight: 220 g

Natural history: Like other crows, jackdaws are intelligent. Reputedly, Italian thieves once trained a jackdaw to steal money from cash machines.

Jackdaws mate for life, which often lasts five years. They roost and forage in groups. Jackdaws have been known to steal shiny objects, just like magpies.

Magpie

(C) Mark Robinson (shared under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license)

Also known as: Eurasian magpie, common magpie

Scientific Name: Pica pica

Family: Corvidae

Appearance: Magpies are black, with white at the shoulders and belly. In sunlight, their black feathers have an iridescent blue and green shimmer. The tail is distinctively long.

Body length: 44-46 cm

Weight: 200-250 g

Natural history: Magpies are common in most of the UK but largely absent in the highlands and islands of Scotland. Their large, domed twig nests are conspicuous in high branches and thornbushes. Like other crows, magpies are omnivores, eating anything from berries to young birds. When food is abundant, they create stockpiles in holes in the ground across their territories. They are particularly intelligent, and are one of the few animals able to recognise themselves in a mirror.

In the early twentieth century, persecution by gamekeepers cause magpie numbers to plummet, but since then they have recovered well. They are beneficial on farmland because they eat insect and rodent pests.

Mountain hare

Scientific Name: Lepus timidus

Family: Leporidae

Appearance: Hares are larger and leaner than rabbits, with longer legs and longer, black-tipped ears. Mountain hares have greyer fur than brown hares, and their fur turns white in winter for camouflage against snow.

Height: 45-65 cm Length: 60 cm
Weight: 4 kg

Natural history: Being better adapted to colder, snowier conditions than brown hares, mountain hares are found in Scotland's highlands and the Peak District. Meanwhile, the brown hare is a better competitor in lowlands. Outside the UK, mountain hares inhabit northern mountains and tundra across Europe and Asia. They are the favourite prey of golden eagles.

(C) David Newland (shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)

(C) Mark Hope (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

Otter

Scientific Name: Lutra lutra

Family: Mustelidae

Appearance: Otters are one of the largest mustelids, with thick brown fur and webbed feet. Length: 135cm. Weight: 10kg.

Natural history: As they feed on fish, amphibians, waterbirds and crustaceans, otters live close by rivers and lakes in underground burrows called holts. They are very territorial, and mark out their large territories using faeces called spraints. Some otters feed mostly on the coasts, but these individuals need a regular supply of fresh water to clean their fur.

The otter species found in Britain is the Eurasian otter. Many other otter species exist around the world, including specialist sea otters, giant otters reaching nearly two metres long, and clawless species.

Otters declined severely throughout Europe due to pollution of waterways. The most serious impacts of pollution are generally seen in top predators such as otters: the pollution from each contaminated animal they eat builds up in predators' bodies, accumulating to huge levels. As environmental policies improve, otters are returning to waterways across the UK.

(C) Peter Trimming (shared under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license)

Pheasant

Scientific name: Phasianus colchicus

Family: Phasianidae

Appearance: The adult male common pheasant of the nominate subspecies, Phasianus colchicus colchicus, is 60-89 cm (24-35 in) in length with a long brown streaked black tail, accounting for almost 50 cm (20 in) of the total length. The body plumage is barred bright gold or fiery copper-red and chestnut-brown plumage with iridescent sheen of green and purple; but rump uniform is sometimes blue. The wing coverage is white or cream and black-barred markings are common on the tail. The head is bottle green with a small crest and distinctive red wattle. P. c. colchicus and some other races lack a white neck ring. Behind the face are two ear-tufts, that make the pheasant to alert. The female (hen) and juveniles are much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage all over and measuring 50-63 cm (20-25 in) long including a tail of around 20 cm (7.9 in). Juvenile birds have the appearance of the female with a shorter tail until young males begin to grow characteristic bright feathers on the breast, head and back at about 10 weeks after hatching.

Natural history and trivia: Pheasants are native to Asia, but have been introduced to many other places as a game bird, bred and hunted for sport. They are a mostly ground based species, but roost in trees at night. They eat a wide variety of food, from plant matter to small animals like snakes or lizards.

(C) Ian (shared under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license)

Pygmy white-toothed shrew

Scientific name: Suncus etruscus

Appearance: Very small, slender body with pale brown back and light grey underbelly, relatively large and protuberant ears.

Rabbit

Scientific Name: Oryctolagus cuniculus

Family: Leporidae

Appearance: Smaller than hares, rabbits have grey-brown fur, long ears and pale tails.

Body length: 34-50 cm Tail length: 4-8 cm

Weight: 1.1-2.5 kg

Natural history: Rabbits were probably introduced to the UK for food by the Romans. They live in large groups in underground warrens.

Rabbits reproduce very rapidly. The invasive population in Australia increased from 24 introduced individuals in 1859, perhaps to as many as 10 billion by 1920. The disease myxomatosis was introduced to help control them, but has been unable to eradicate these widespread pests there.

(C) Philip Stephens (shared under a CC BY NC 2.0 license)

Red squirrel

Scientific name: Sciurus vulgaris

Family: Sciuridae

Appearance: These squirrels are reddish-brown, with the red fading somewhat in winter, and white underparts. They have tufted ears and bushy tails.

Natural history: Red squirrels are forest-dwellers, spending more time in the treetops than greys. Their nests, called dreys, are high-up, in holes in trees or woven from twigs. Red squirrels do not hibernate, but may shelter in a drey for many days in bad weather. They eat nuts, seeds, berries, bark and fungi. Through the autumn, they stockpile nuts to feed on through the winter when other food sources become scarce.

Red squirrels have two litters per year, normally of three or four young called kittens. During bad years for the pine cone crop, squirrels can delay gestation until the following year.

Red squirrels can be right-handed or left-handed, seen in the way they eat pinecones.

A virus carried by invasive grey squirrels has caused serious declines in Britain's red squirrel population. Red squirrels survive in a continually-shrinking area of northern England, parts of Scotland, and scattered populations protected by the eradication of greys. Many conservation groups are developing programmes to help them reoccupy their natural range, which they readily do when greys are controlled.

(C) Bob Hall (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

Ring-tailed Coati

(C) Gustavo Fernando Durán (shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)

Scientific name: Nasua nasua

Family: Procyonidae

Appearance: The South American Coati is a member of the Raccoon family. It has a red-brown coat above and is paler underneath, its tail is long and has yellow rings. The head is long and elongated with a flexible snout which enables it to poke around under rocks and into crevices when searching for food.

Natural history: The South American Coati is an introduced species to the UK but there is currently no evidence to suggest that there are any breeding populations in the wild. They are active during the day, are both arboreal and terrestrial and usually inhabit forest. Males are solitary while females and young travel in groups. Their diet consists of fruit, invertebrates and small mammals. Breeding takes place when the main fruit in the diet is in season. Females mate with multiple males and give birth to a litter of between 2 and 4 young.

Western Hedgehog

Scientific name: Erinaceus europaeus

Family: Erinaceidae

Appearance: Hedgehogs are brown with spines covering their backs.

Body length: 25 cm Tail length: 2-3 cm

Weight: up to 2 kg

Natural history: Hedgehogs mainly eat invertebrates but have a varied diet that also includes birds' eggs and amphibians. They are regularly found in gardens, where they eat pests such as slugs. Nonetheless, urban development and habitat loss contribute to their current decline. Hedgehogs are known for curling into balls with their spines facing outwards to protect themselves from predators. However, so many are being killed on roads that they are now losing this trait to better escape cars. Hedgehogs hibernate through the winter. They may wake from hibernation occasionally to find additional food or move nests.

(C) Giles Watson (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

Woodpigeon

Scientific Name: Columba palumbus

Family: Columbidae

Appearance: Woodpigeons are mostly grey, with white collars, pinkish breasts and orange beaks.

Body length: 38-44.5 cm

Weight: 300-615 g

Natural history: Woodpigeons are found throughout the UK, excluding parts of the Scottish highlands. They have distinctive loud cooing calls and clattering wingbeats. Crops are a large part of their diet, alongside shoots, berries and nuts.

(C) António Pena (shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)

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Bank Vole Scientific name: Myodes ( Clethrionomys) glareolus Family: Cricetidae Appearance: The Bank Vole is generally mouse-like in appearance but is stouter with a rounder head and small eyes and ears. Its tail is also much shorter than a mouse being around two thirds the length of its body.

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They are awake at night and sleep in the daytime, spending most of their time in water where they catch plants to eat!

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Grey seal pups manage to drink so much milk that they are fully grown and ready to eat fish after only one month.

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Brown Hares are bigger than Rabbits with longer legs and ears!

They live in grassland and woodlands. They have very big ears and have long legs which mean they can run very fast.

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Red squirrels live in the trees and use their long tails for balance and to steer as they jump tree to tree. They also have sharp, curved claws that help them to climb.

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They make a snorting sound like a pig as they wander through the forest, turning over the ground as they look for food.

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You can often see them in your garden. Sometimes you will even see their babies (called cubs) playing on the lawn!

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Hedgehogs come out at night when it is dark and begin their hunt for food

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Badgers live underground in large families!