Welcome to the Mammal Menagerie

Badger Meles meles	Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus	Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius	Fox Vulpes vulpes	Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus	Mink Lutreola vison	Mole Talpa europaea	Otter Lutra lutra	Polecat Mustela putorius

Rabbit Oryctolagus coniculus	Grey Seal Halichoerus gryphus	Shrew Sorex araneus	Water vole Arvicola terrestris	Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Looking for BATS? You need to visit the Bat Cave...

Each image links to a page containing larger pictures, indentification guides and details of food and habitat requirements for each of the mammal species shown here.

What are mammals?

Mammals are the most developmentally advanced group of animals. What distinguishes them from other vertebrates (such as reptiles, amphibians, birds and so on) are these two unique features:

They are wholly or at least partly covered in hair or fur
The mothers feed their young with milk from their mammary glands

All mammals are warm blooded (but so are birds) and must maintain their bodies at a constant temperature, different for each species but within the range 35 to 40 ^oC.

The smallest mammals are just a few cm long and weigh little more than a gram, while at the other extreme the largest whales grow to 30 metres in length and can weigh up to 150 tonnes.

Observing mammals

With a few notable exceptions, such as squirrels, wild mammals are not easy to observe at close quarter, and so field glasses are quite essential. Herbivores are usually the easiest to find and watch because they tend to live in colonies, while the carnivores are usually more difficult to spot and many of them are nocturnal.

The numbers of some mammals - several species bats and the dormouse for instance - are so depleted that attempts to observe them could result in even more damage.

Protection for Mammals

British and European legislation provides protection for several mammal species, and anyone seeking to observe or study such animals should first become fully acquainted with the law.

For example, all species of bats are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal intentionally to kill, injure or take any bat, to disturb roosting bats, or to damage, destroy or obstruct access to any place used by bats for roosting.

Mammal links

Organisations active in mammal conservation include:

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