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British Mammals

Species 1 - 50 of 66 [ next ]

American mink (Mustela vison)
The introduced American mink has a slender body, short legs and a tail that is about a third of the body length. The thick, glossy... More	7 Images	15 Videos

Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin is a large, robust species, which is easily recognised by the obvious yellow patch towards the... More	2 Images	0 Videos

Badger (Meles meles)
With its striking black and white striped head, the badger is one of our most instantly recognisable mammals. The rest of the... More	11 Images	17 Videos

Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus)
The bank vole has a small, stocky body and a blunt, rounded muzzle. The upperparts may be yellowish, reddish or brown in colour... More	15 Images	4 Videos

Barbastelle bat (Barbastella barbastellus)
This rare medium-sized bat has a short nose, small eyes and wide ears with a triangular shaped tragus. It has long silky fur, dark... More	2 Images	0 Videos

Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii)
This rare tree-dwelling bat has long, broad ears with a long lancet shaped tragus (a soft cartilaginous projection in front of the... More	4 Images	0 Videos

Black rat (Rattus rattus)
Also known as the ship rat, the black rat was introduced to Britain with the Romans. Generally smaller than the brown rat (Rattus... More	7 Images	1 Video

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
The bottlenose dolphin is one of the most well-known species of dolphin. There appear to be two main varieties; a smaller, inshore... More	22 Images	2 Videos

Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii)
Brandt's bat was first discovered in Europe in 1958, but was only separated from the very similar species, the whiskered bat... More	4 Images	0 Videos

Brown hare (Lepus europaeus)
The general form and structure of the brown hare resembles that of the rabbit, but obvious differences include the hare's longer... More	18 Images	5 Videos

Brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus)
The brown long-eared bat is the second most common bat in Great Britain after the pipistrelles. As the name suggests, it has... More	10 Images	0 Videos

Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)
The brown or Norway rat is a supreme generalist; its opportunistic lifestyle, agility and prolific breeding potential have helped... More	13 Images	13 Videos

Common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
This attractive rodent can be easily distinguished from mice by its long, fluffy tail. One of the smaller members of the family... More	7 Images	5 Videos

Common otter (Lutra lutra)
The elusive common otter has sleek brown fur, which is often paler on the underside, and a long lithe body with a thick tail and... More	15 Images	18 Videos

Common seal (Phoca vitulina)
Also known as the harbour seal, the common seal is the smaller of the two breeding seals in Great Britain. When hauled out it often... More	9 Images	6 Videos

Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
The common shrew, one of Britain's most abundant mammals has a long, flexible snout, tiny ears and small eyes typical of most... More	8 Images	7 Videos

Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii)
Daubenton's bat is a medium-sized to small species. The fur has a fluffy appearance, is brownish-grey to bronze on the back, and... More	7 Images	4 Videos

European polecat (Mustela putorius)
The largest member of the genus Mustela in Britain, polecats have weasel-like slender bodies, short legs and a broad head. Males... More	9 Images	4 Videos

European wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia)
The Scottish subspecies of the European wildcat, Felis silvestris grampia is a stocky cat, and can be distinguished from the... More	17 Images	0 Videos

Fallow deer (Dama dama)
Prized as an ornamental species for many years, the fallow deer displays a variety of coat colours in the UK, ranging from red... More	34 Images	0 Videos

Fat dormouse (Glis glis)
The fat, or edible dormouse was introduced to Britain in 1902. This is a fairly large dormouse, with a very bushy tail and short... More	13 Images	11 Videos

Field vole (Microtus agrestis)
Like all voles, the field vole has a small, stocky body and a blunt, rounded muzzle. The fur is greyish-brown on the upperparts... More	8 Images	4 Videos

Greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)
The greater horseshoe bat is the larger of the two horseshoe bats found in Britain. They are so-named from the horseshoe shaped... More	7 Images	5 Videos

Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis)
The greater mouse-eared bat is one of the larger European bats and has become extinct in England. Its fur is a medium-brown colour... More	6 Images	0 Videos

Greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula)
This shrew is one of the 'white-toothed shrews'; it lacks deposition of iron in the enamel of the tips of the teeth as seen in the... More	4 Images	0 Videos

Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus)
The grey long-eared bat is one of Britain's rarest mammals. It is very similar in appearance to the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus... More	2 Images	0 Videos

Grey seal (eastern Atlantic population) (Halichoerus grypus)
Grey seals are the larger of Britain's two species of breeding seal. The coat colour varies from grey to brown to silver, often... More	28 Images	11 Videos

Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Although a familiar mammal in many parts of Great Britain, the grey squirrel is non-native, having been first introduced from the... More	15 Images	8 Videos

Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
The harbour porpoise is the most commonly seen porpoise, and is the most widely distributed of all cetaceans (whales and... More	5 Images	2 Videos

Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus)
The diminutive harvest mouse is the smallest rodent in Europe, weighing up to just 6g. It is easily identified, with its blunt nose... More	17 Images	15 Videos

Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
The hedgehog is one of our most instantly recognisable native mammals, as it is the only British mammal to have spines. They are... More	21 Images	12 Videos

House mouse (Mus musculus)
The house mouse is one of the most widely distributed and successful mammals in the world. It has dull greyish-brown fur and the... More	18 Images	0 Videos

Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri)
This medium sized bat is similar in appearance to the noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula), but it is both darker and smaller. The fur... More	3 Images	0 Videos

Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
The lesser horseshoe bat is one of the smallest British bats. It has soft fluffy fur, which is brownish on the back and grey-white... More	5 Images	1 Video

Lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens)
This shrew is the smallest of the 'white-toothed shrews'; it lacks the deposition of iron in the tips of the teeth seen... More	5 Images	3 Videos

Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)
The long-finned pilot whale is not actually a whale, but a dolphin. Along with the related short-finned pilot whale, this species... More	8 Images	2 Videos

Mole (Talpa europaea)
The European mole has an elongated, cylindrical body, covered in black, velvety fur. Although the eyes are complete, they are tiny... More	10 Images	7 Videos

Mountain hare (Lepus timidus)
The mountain hare, also known as the blue hare, or white hare in winter, is native to Britain, unlike the brown hare (Lepus... More	19 Images	0 Videos

Nathusius's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii)
Nathusius's pipistrelle is a small bat, with long wings. It was not known to breed in Great Britain until as recently as 1997. The... More	2 Images	1 Video

Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri)
This medium sized bat has a grey-brown back and whitish fur to the underside, a pinkish face and quite large ears that are pink... More	9 Images	1 Video

Noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula)
The noctule is one of the largest bats in Europe. It has long, narrow wings, and the short fur lies close to the body. The back... More	7 Images	0 Videos

Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)
The northern bottlenose whale has a bulbous forehead and an obvious tube-like beak, these features are more pronounced in older... More	6 Images	0 Videos

Northern hemisphere minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
The smallest of the rorqual whales, the minke whale is also the most abundant. Two species are now recognised, the northern... More	12 Images	1 Video

Orca (Orcinus orca)
The orca, once also known as the killer whale, is in fact the largest of the dolphins. They are easily identified by the black and... More	9 Images	1 Video

Orkney vole (Microtus arvalis orcadensis)
The Orkney vole is an endemic subspecies of the common vole (Microtus arvalis), which is found only in the Orkney Islands... More	6 Images	1 Video

Pine marten (Martes martes)
This elusive, generally nocturnal species has chestnut-brown to dark brown fur with a creamy-yellow bib. The tail is long and... More	9 Images	10 Videos

Pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus)
It was recently discovered that there are actually two species of pipistrelle bat formerly grouped together as Pipistrellus... More	9 Images	4 Videos

Pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus)
As both the common and scientific names suggest (minutus means small), the pygmy shrew is tiny, in fact it is the smallest native... More	4 Images	0 Videos

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
One of our best-known wild mammals, the rabbit was introduced to Great Britain during the Twelfth century AD by the Normans. Its... More	19 Images	11 Videos

Red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Red deer are the largest native land animal to occur in the UK. Stags (males) are larger in size than hinds (females), and have... More	20 Images	17 Videos

Species 1 - 50 of 66 [ next ]

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