Mammal Information

The hedgehog has been voted the top icon of the British Countryside

Lots of information available in The New Hedgehog Book by expert Pat Morris (click on image to purchase) and also
at The British Hedgehog Preservation Society
Wildlife on-line is a good web resource.

The Spring Newsletter of the PTES asks "Are our hedgehogs in trouble?

There are five types of shrew in the British Isles. Two species of 'white toothed shrew' arrived on trading boats many cenuries ago from the continent, but one, the Greater white-toothed shrew only made it as far as the Channel Islands, whilst the Lesser white-toothed shrew reached the Scilly Isles as well.

On mainland Britain our 3 natives shrews have iron oxide deposits in their front teeth and are 'red-toothed shrews'. The largest is the Water shrew, the smallest is the Pygmy shrew with the Common shrew somewhere in between.

A Natural England Licence is required before you can trap or handle shrews.

There are 17 species of bat in Britain and they're special. They are the only mammal that flies and they navigate using echolocation. A very good introduction to the group is Focus on Bats from Natural England. Click on the image for your free copy.

Also available free from English Nature are the Bat Mitigaton Guidlines and from the JNCC The Bat Workers Manual.
A simpler identification guide is available from the
Field studies Council.

The local Group with County responsibility is The Hampshire Bat Group. Nationally the Bat Conservation Trust is the only charity solely devoted to the conservation of bats. They support a network of local bat groups, organise the National Bat Monitoring Programme, run the Bat helpline (which provides advice to the public), provides a variety of resources and run training courses and workshops.

There is lots of information on the Hazel dormouse at www.greenboot.co.uk including details of UK and local Biodiversity Action Plans, details of dormouse ecology and a current distribution map.

New and old issues of the newsletter of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP), The Dormouse Monitor are also available and copies of many scientific papers relating to our native dormouse

A factsheet from Hampshire Wildlife Trust is available by clicking on the image.

There are no up-to-date studies on Yellow necked mice. The last comprehensive survey was undertaken by Marsh in 1999 for the Mammal Society.

The red fox is a very adaptable carnivore, living anywhere from the tundra to the city. As with all carnivores, its existence is often in conflict with people. At www.thefoxwebsite.org you will find information on all aspects of red fox ecology, management and human conflict.

The grace and beauty of the brown hare, Lepus europaeus, have become symbolic of the British countryside. After the long winter months there can be few sights more uplifting to the human spirit than the spring-time boxing antics of these delightful creatures.

The British Brown Hare Preservaton Society aims to raise the profile of the species.