Mammals

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The mammals are perhaps the most familiar of all the animal classes, being the one to which we humans belong. The presence of a neocortex in our brains, hair, three bones in our middle ear, and mammary glands that mean all female nurse young with milk sets the mammals apart from any other group of animals. Globally, the mammals have conquered every content and there are about 5,400 species currently know to science, from the bizarre to the familiar. The British Isles and its waters are home to 101 species of mammal, 49 of which are considered native.

Badgers

Instantly recognisable but uncommonly seen in Britain, the badger is our largest and arguably most controversial mustelid.

Bats

An overview of bat natural history with a focus on the 16 species found in Britain.

Beavers

Large semi-aquatic, tree-felling rodents. Related to pocket gophers and kangaroo rats; more distantly to mice and rats.

Cats

Britain's home to only a single wildcat species; the elusive Scottish wildcat or Highland tiger.

Deer

Deer are our largest terrestrial mammals and all six wild species appear to be thriving in the British countryside.

Foxes

Very familiar and highly controversial, foxes are Britain’s only wild canid and one of the few species to have thrived in our cities.

Hedgehogs

Once a common sight in Britain’s hedge-rich pasture farmland, our only spiny mammal is an increasingly rare sight.

Mice, Voles & Shrews

Small mammals that are often overlooked, but which play crucial roles in the biodiversity of our fields, woodlands and rivers.

Moles

Small fossorial mammals comprising about 50 species worldwide, moles are rarely seen with their presence betrayed by the presence of molehills.

Otters

Large semi-aquatic mustelids feeding primarily on fish.

Rabbits & Hares

Widely persecuted, all three of Britain’s lagomorph species have had a tumultuous history in our countryside.

Squirrels

Tree-climbing rodents widespread in our gardens, parks and forests. Two species call Britain home: the Red and the Grey.

Wild boar

Sus scrofa

Wild boar are Britain's only native pig species. Having been hunted to extinction during the 1200 and 1300s, boar are now making a comeback in Britain.

Bibliography

A Country Chronicle - by Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald
Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd. -- 1984 -- ISBN: 978-0862991715

A Field Guide to British Bats - by Frank Greenaway & A. M. Hutson
Bruce Coleman Books -- 1990 -- ISBN: 978-1872842004

A Fox’s Tale: The secret life of the fox - by Robin Page
Hodder and Stoughton -- 1986 -- ISBN: 978-0340382561

A Guide to British Bats (3rd Edition) - by Kate Jones & Allyson Walsh
Field Studies Council -- 2006

A Highland Deer Herd and its Habitat - by Jos Milner; Jim Alexander; Cy Griffin
Red Lion House -- 2002 -- ISBN: 978-0951263150

A Life for Deer: A deer vet tells their story and his - by John Fletcher
Victor Gollancz Books -- 2000 -- ISBN: 978-0575070905

A New Forest Fox Family - by Thelma Clarke
Barny Books -- 2000 -- ISBN: 978-0948204463

A Prickly Affair: My life with hedgehogs - by Hugh Warwick
Penguin Books -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-1846140655

A World Without Bees - by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum
Guardian Books -- 2009 -- ISBN: 978-0852651315

An Irish Beast Book - by James Fairley
Blackstaff Press -- 1975 -- ISBN: 978-0856403149

Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain & Northern Ireland - by Multiple Contributors
Pelagic Publishing -- 2020 -- ISBN: 978-1784272043

Badger - by Daniel Heath Justice
Reakton Books -- 2015 -- ISBN: 978-1780233369

Badger - by Timothy J. Roper
Collins New Naturalist -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-0007339778

Badger Behaviour Conservation and Rehabilitation - by George E. Pearce
Pelagic Publishing -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-1907807046

Badgerlands - by Patrick Barkham
Granta -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1847085054

Badgers - by Michael Clark
Whittet Books -- 2001 -- ISBN: 978-1873580998

Badgers - by Mairi Cooper & John Ralstow
Scottish Natural Heritage & British Geological Society Booklets -- 1997 -- ISBN: 978-1853972546

Badgers - Secrets of the Sett - by Natural World
BBC Worldwide Ltd. -- 2008 -- ISBN: N/A

Badgers of Yorkshire & Humberside - by Adrian Middleton & Richard Paget
H. Morley & Sons -- 1974 -- ISBN: 978-0900657283

Bat Ecology - by Thomas Kunz & Brock Fenton
University of Chicago Press -- 2005 -- ISBN: 978-0226462073

Bats - by Phil Richardson
Natural History Museum -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-0565092757

Bats of Britain & Europe - by Christian Dietz & Andreas Kiefer
Bloomsbury -- 2016 -- ISBN: 978-1472922021

Bats of the British Isles - by A.A. Wardhaugh
Shire Publishers Ltd. -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-0852638569

Belinda, The Forest How Red Squirrel - by Peter Trimming
The Book Guild -- 2016 -- ISBN: 978-1910878552

Britain’s Mammals 2018: The Mammal Society’s Guide to their Population & Conservation Status - by Multiple Contributors
The Mammal Society -- 2020 -- ISBN: 978-0993567339

Britain’s Mammals: A Concise Guide - by People’s Trust for Endangered Species
Whittet Books -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-1873580813

British Bats - by John Altringham
Collins New Naturalist -- 2009 -- ISBN: 978-0007308682

British Wild Boar: The Story So Far - by Derek Harman
Skycat Publications -- 2013 -- ISBN: 978-0957567320

British Wildlife: Foxes - by Sally Morgan
Franklin Watts -- 2005 -- ISBN: 978-0749679101

British Wildlife: Foxes - by Sally Morgan
Franklin Watts -- 2005 -- ISBN: 978-0749679101

Charlie Brown - by Mike Towler
Vulpine Publishing -- 1987 -- ISBN: N/A

Collins Field Guide: Mammals of Britain and Europe - by David MacDonald and Priscilla Barrett
HarperCollins Publishers -- 1993 -- ISBN: 978-0002197793

Country Foxes - by Hugh Kolb
Whittet Books -- 1996 -- ISBN: 978-1873580295

Dearest Prickles - by Walter & Christl Podushka
Neville Spearman -- 1972 -- ISBN: 978-0854352111

Deer - by Raymond Chaplin
Blandford Press -- 1977 -- ISBN: 978-0713707960

Deer - by John Fletcher
Reakton Books -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1780230887

Deer - by Norma Chapman
Whittet Books -- 1991 -- ISBN: 978-1873580356

Deer of Britain and Ireland: Their origins and distribution - by Peter Carne
Swan-Hill Press -- 2000 -- ISBN: 978-1840370911

Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology - by Valerius Geist
Stackpole Books -- 1998 -- ISBN: 978-0811704960

Deer Watch: A Field Guide (Revised Edition) - by Richard Prior
Swan-Hill Press -- 2007 -- ISBN: 978-1846890130

Deer: Law & Liabilities (2nd Edition) - by Charlie Parkes; John Thornley
Quiller -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-1846890475

Dogs: Their fossil relatives and evolutionary history - by Xiaoming Wang and Richard Tedford
Columbia University Press -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-0231135290

Dormice: A Tale of Two Species - by Pat Morris
Whittet Books -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-1873580820

Echolocation in Bats and Dolphins - by Jeanette Thomas, Cynthia Moss & Marianne Vater
University of Chicago Press -- 2004 -- ISBN: 978-0226795997

Environmental Artbook Series: Australian Bats - by Jim Morris & Lynne Tracey
Greater Glider Productions -- 2003 -- ISBN: 978-0947304089

Finding and Identifying Mammals - by Gordon Corbet
British Museum -- 1989 -- ISBN: 978-0565010829

Fox - by Martin Wallen
Reaktion Books -- 2006 -- ISBN: 978-1861892973

Foxes (Mammal Society Series) - by Steve Harris
Anthony Nelson Ltd. -- 1984 -- ISBN: 978-0904614121

Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Modern Britain - by Lucy Jones
Elliott & Thompson -- 2016 -- ISBN: 978-1783961498

Foxwatching: In the shadow of the fox - by Martin Hemmington
Whittet Books -- 1997 -- ISBN: 978-1873580318

Free Spirit: A brush with a fox - by Michael Chambers
Methuen London -- 1990 -- ISBN: 978-0413629807

Gardens and Deer: A guide to damage limitation - by Charles Coles
Swan-Hill Press -- 1997 -- ISBN: 978-1853109652

Grazing in Temperate Ecosystems: Large Herbivores and the Ecology of the New Forest - by Rod Putman
Croom Helm -- 1986 -- ISBN: 978-0881920710

Hedgehogs - by Pat Morris
Whittet Books -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1873580905

Hedgehogs - by Nigel Reeve
T&AD Poyser Ltd. -- 1996 -- ISBN: 978-0856610813

Hedgehogs: A comprehensive study - by Konrad Herter
Phoenix House Publications -- 1996 -- ISBN: N/A

Highland Deer Forest - by Lea MacNally
J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. -- 1970 -- ISBN: 978-0330234665

How to Spot a Fox - by J. David Henry
Chapters Publishing Ltd. -- 1993 -- ISBN: 978-1881527176

Hunter and Hunted - by Hans Kruuk
Cambridge University Press -- 2002 -- ISBN: 978-0521891097

In Search of the Scottish Wildcat - by Morris Allan
Windfall Books -- 2002 -- ISBN: 978-0953983919

Just About Me - by Mike Towler
Vulpine Publishing -- 2006 -- ISBN: N/A

Kia – A Study of Red Deer - by Ian Alcock
Swan-Hill Press -- 1999 -- ISBN: 978-1840370317

Living with Deer - by Richard Prior
Andre Deusch -- 1965 -- ISBN: 978-0727401175

Mammal Detective - by Rob Strachan
Whittet Books -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-1873580776

Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook, 4th Edition - by Stephen Harris and Derek Yalden (eds)
The Mammal Society -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-0906282656
The natural history "bible" covering all British mammals with detailed coverage of their biology, behaviour, ecology and taxonomy written by experts in the field and referenced to the primary literature.

Mammals of the World: A checklist - by Andrew Duff & Ann Lawson
A&C Black -- 2004 -- ISBN: 978-0713660210

Mind the Gap: Postglacial colonization of Ireland - by John L. Davenport, David P. Sleeman & Peter C. Woodman (eds)
Irish Naturalists' Journal -- 2008

Muntjac and Water Deer: Natural History, Environmental Impact and Management - by Arnold Cooke
Pelagic Publishing -- 2019 -- ISBN: 978-1784271909

My Friends the Foxes - by Mike Towler
Vulpine Publishing -- 2015 -- ISBN: N/A

My Life With Foxes - by Eric Ashby
Robert Hale Books -- 2000 -- ISBN: 978-0709065616

Otters - by Paul Chanin
Whittet Books -- 2012 -- ISBN: 978-1873580844

Otters - by Paul Channin
Whittet Books -- 2019 -- ISBN: 978-1873580844

Otters in Britain - by Liz Laidler
David & Charles -- 1982 -- ISBN: 0-715308069-9

Otters of the World - by Paul & Grace Yoxon
Whittles Publishing -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1849951296

Otters: Ecology, behaviour and conservation - by Hans Kruuk
Oxford University Press -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-0198565864

Red Deer: Behaviour and Ecology of Two Sexes - by Tim Clutton-Brock; Fiona Guinness; Steve Albon
Edinburgh University Press -- 1982 -- ISBN: 978-0226110578

Red Fox: The Catlike Canine - by J. David Henry
Smithsonian Institution Press -- 1996 -- ISBN: 978-1560986355

Red Squirrels - by Helen Butler
Wight Squirrel Project -- 1998 -- ISBN: 978-0955231438

Red Squirrels: Ecology, Conservation & Management in Europe - by Craig Shuttleworth, Peter Lurz & Matthew Hayward
European Squirrel Initiative -- 2015 -- ISBN: 978-0954757618

Rescuing the Disappearing Hedgehog - by Toni Bunnell
Toni Bunnell -- 2016 -- ISBN: 978-1782808909

RSPB Spotlight Bats - by Nancy Jennings
Bloomsbury Wildlife -- 2018 -- ISBN: 978-1472950055

RSPB Spotlight: Otters - by Nicola Chester
Bloomsbury Natural History -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1472903860

Running with the Fox - by David MacDonald
UnwinHyman -- 1987 -- ISBN: 978-0816018864

Scottish Red Deer and their Conservation - by Victor Lowe
Hayloft Publishing -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1904524939

Sett on the Heath - by RMG Wildlife
RMG Wildlife -- 2008 -- ISBN: N/A

Shark Smart: The diver’s guide to understanding shark behaviour - by Richard Martin
Diving Naturalist Press -- 1995

Silently by Night: About the little-known but fascinating world of bats - by Russell Peterson
Longman Ltd. -- 1966

Squirrel on my Shoulder - by John Paling
BBC Books -- 1979 -- ISBN: 978-0563176398

Squirrels - by Monica Shorten
Collins -- 1954 -- ISBN: 978-1616905774

Squirrels - by Jessica Holm
Whittet Books -- 1987 -- ISBN: 978-1873580172

Squirrels in Britain - by Keith Laidler
David & Charles -- 1980 -- ISBN: 978-0715378250

Squirrels in Your Garden - by Doreen King
Kingdom Books -- 1998 -- ISBN: 978-1852790288

St. Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital: Jaws the Hedgehog and Other Stories - by Les Stocker
Collins -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-0006751816

That Mad Badger - by Molly Burkett
Tandem Publishing -- 1974 -- ISBN: 978-0426111566

The Badger - by Thomas J. Hayden (ed)
Royal Irish Academy -- 1993 -- ISBN: 978-1874045144

The Badger (2nd Edition) - by Michael Woods
The Mammal Society -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-0906282700

The Badger Man: Memoirs of a Biologist - by Earnest Neal
Providence Press -- 1994 -- ISBN: 0-903803-28-3

The Biology of Bats - by Gerhard Neuweiler
Oxford University Press -- 2000 -- ISBN: 978-0195099515

The British Mammal Guide - by Steve Evans & Paul Wetton
Isabelline Films -- 2015 -- ISBN: N/A

The Complete Bat - by James Robertson
Chatto & Windus -- 1990 -- ISBN: 978-0701135003

The Complete Fox - by Les Stocker
Chatto and Windus, Ltd. -- 1994 -- ISBN: 978-0701137762

The Complete Hedgehog - by Les Stocker
Chatto & Windus -- 1987 -- ISBN: 978-0701132729

The Conservation of Red Squirrels - by John Gurnell & Peter Lurz (eds)
PTES -- 1997 -- ISBN: 978-1855800144

The Day of the Hedgehog - by Hedgehog Street
BHPS / PTES -- 2015

The Deer of Great Britain & Ireland: An account of their history, status and distribution - by Peter Carne
G. Kenneth Whitehead -- 1964 -- ISBN: None

The Disappearing Hedgehog - by Toni Bunnell
Toni Bunnell -- 2014 -- ISBN: 978-1782802365

The Dormouse (2nd Edition) - by Paul Bright & Pat Morris
The Mammal Society -- 2005 -- ISBN: 978-0906282533

The Encyclopaedia of Mammals - by David MacDonald (ed.)
Brown Reference Group -- 2006 -- ISBN: 978-0199206087

The Eurasian Red Squirrel - by Stefan Bosch & Peter Lurz
Westarp Wissenschaften -- 2012 -- ISBN: 978-3894322588

The Grey Squirrel: Ecology & Management of an Invasive Species in Europe - by Craig Shuttleworth, Peter Lurz & John Gurnell (eds.)
European Squirrel Initiative -- 2016 -- ISBN: 978-0954757649

The Hazel Dormouse - by Rimvydas Juskaitis & Sven Buchner
Westarp Wissenschaften -- 2013 -- ISBN: 978-3894322595

The Hedgehog - by Maurice Burton
Corgi Publishing -- 1969 -- ISBN: 978-0552092104

The Hedgehog - by Pat Morris
The Mammal Society -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-0906282717

The Hidden World of the Fox - by Adele Brand
William Collins -- 2020 -- ISBN: 978-0008327286

The Life of Mammals - by David Attenborough
BBC Books -- 2002 -- ISBN: 978-0563534235

The Mammalian Radiations - by John F. Eisenberg
University of Chicago Press -- 1981 -- ISBN: 978-0226195377

The Mammals of the Palaearctic Region: A Taxonomic Review - by Gordon Corbet
Cornell University Press -- 1978 -- ISBN: 978-0801411717

The Natural Hedgehog - by Lenni Sykes & Jane Durrant
Gaia Books -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-1856750738

The Natural History of Badgers - by Ernest Neal
Christopher Helm Publishers -- 1986 -- ISBN: 978-0709918325

The Natural History of Deer - by Rory Putman
Christopher Helm -- 1988 -- ISBN: 978-0801422836

The Natural History of Squirrels - by John Gurnell
Christopher Helm Publishers -- 1987 -- ISBN: 978-0747012108

The Nature of Foxes: Hunters of the shadows - by Rebecca Gambo
Greystone Books -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-1550541847

The New Hedgehog Book - by Pat Morris
Whittet Books -- 2006 -- ISBN: 1-873580-71-1

The Otter - by Gordon Woodroffe
The Mammal Society -- 2007 -- ISBN: 978-0906282632

The Otter - by James Williams
Merlin Unwin Books -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-1906122225

The Red Squirrel - by Jessica Holm
Shire Natural History -- 1989 -- ISBN: 978-0747800224

The Red Squirrel: Redressing the Wrong - by Charles Dutton
European Squirrel Initiative -- 2004 -- ISBN: N/A

The Scientific Names of British Mammals and Why They Change - by Derek Yalden
The Mammal Society -- 1979 -- ISBN: N/A

The Scottish Wildcat - by Christopher Clegg
Merlin Unwin Books -- 2017 -- ISBN: 978-1910723418

The Social Badger - by Hans Kruuk
Oxford University Press -- 1989 -- ISBN: 978-0198587033

The Story of a Red-Deer - by William Fortescue
MacMillian and Co. -- 1897 -- ISBN: 978-1507576755

The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-winkle - by Beatrix Potter
Collins/Frederick Warne & Co. -- 1905 -- ISBN: 978-0723247753

The Watcher and the Red Deer - by Richard Perry
The Country Book Club -- 1972 -- ISBN: 978-0715353851

The Wildcat - by Andrew Kitchener
The Mammal Society -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-0906282274

Town Fox, Country Fox - by Brian Vezey-Fitzgerald
The Country Book Club -- 1968 -- ISBN: 978-0552092111

Tracking The Highland Tiger: In Search of Scottish Wildcats - by Marianne Taylor
Bloomsbury Wildlife -- 2019 -- ISBN: 978-1472900920

UK Mammals: Species Status & Population Trends - by The Tracking Mammals Partnership
JNCC/TMP -- 2005 -- ISBN: 978-1861075680

Unearthing the Urban Fox - by Trevor Williams and Andrew Wilson
The Fox Project -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-0956961402

Urban Carnivores: Ecology, Conflict, & Conservation - by Stanley Gehrt, Seth Riley & Brian Cypher
John Hopkins University Press -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-0801893896

Urban Foxes - by Stephen Harris & Phil Baker
Whittet Books -- 2001 -- ISBN: 978-1873580516

Urban Mammals: A Concise Guide - by David Wembridge
Whittet Books -- 2012 -- ISBN: 978-1873580851

Wild Boar - by Dorothy Yamamoto
Reaktion Books -- 2017 -- ISBN: 978-1780237619

Wild Boar in Britain - by Martin Goulding
Whittet Books -- 2003 -- ISBN: 978-1873580585

Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, in Southern England - by Martin Goulding
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing -- 2010 -- ISBN: 978-3838348520

Wild Boar: A British Perspective - by Steve Sweeting
Blaze Publishing Ltd. -- 2013 -- ISBN: 978-0954959739

Wild Britain: Hedgehog - by Louise Spilsbury & Richard Spilsbury
Heinemann Library -- 2004 -- ISBN: 978-0431039381

Wild Cats of the World - by David Alderton
Facts on File Inc -- 2002 -- ISBN: 978-0816052172

Wild Fox: A complete study of the Red fox - by Roger Burrows
David and Charles Publishers -- 1968 -- ISBN: 978-0330238007
Note: Burrows provides some interesting observations in this book, but frequently arrives at spurious conclusions. As such, this book should be interpreted with caution.

Wildcat Haven - by Mike Tomkies
Whittles Publishing -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-1904445753

Wildcats - by Mike Tomkies
Whittet Books -- 1991 -- ISBN: 978-0905483863