Mammals Of The British Countryside Quiz

Answer: Weasel

It is estimated that about 450,000 weasels live in Britain. Thy can be found in wooded lowland areas to mountain moors. Like many 'wild' animals, they can sometimes be found in towns.

Their main diet is small rodents and they can get into the tightest of lairs. Weasels also have a bad reputation for raiding henhouses.

Cats, dogs, snakes, and owls are common predators. It is illegal to keep a weasel as a pet, and they can bite. Go for a ferret instead.

Answer: Fallow Deer

Fallow deer can be found in dense vegetation and woodlands. It is thought the population extends to some 264,000.

Fallow deer are not native to the British Isles, but were brought from the western Mediterranean during Roman times. They are widespread in England and Wales, but not seen so regularly in Scotland.

Fallow deer can cause quite a bit of damage to woodland and are frequently stalked and culled by hunters. Some herds are farmed for their venison.

Answer: Rabbit

Rabbits in the wild can be found in dense vegetation and hedgerows.

Once again this is a mammal not native to the British Isles; they were brought by the Normans in the 12th Century.

The population grew to some 36 million in the wild because they tend to breed like, um....rabbits. On average there are six 'kits' in each litter (and up to 14) and one female rabbit can produce 12 litters a year.

To digress, in 1859 24 rabbits were released into the wild in Australia for sport. Within 150 years the wild population was an estimated 200 million.

Answer: Badger

Badgers are largely nocturnal and live in underground 'setts' big enough for up to 15 animals. They can be found in woodland and arable land and have also learned to forage in domestic gardens.

It is estimated that the badger population, at time of writing, was 562,000. Badgers have been blamed for spreading bovine tuberculous to domestic cattle and in parts of Great Britain active culling operations have been carried out. The propensity of badgers to spread bovine TB is hotly disputed. A small percentage of badgers can catch TB from eating carrion and this can spread to cattle who eat or drink nearby. It has also been scientifically established that badgers can be vaccinated against TB.

Answer: Greater Horseshoe Bat

Bats are nocturnal creatures and are protected by law in the UK. They can be found in old buildings largely in south west England and south Wales. A group of bats is called a cauldron, or sometimes colony. Their main diet is insects and beetles.

Have you heard the saying "as blind as a bat"? Well, it is untrue. Bats can see three times better than humans. They also have the ability to use sound waves to echolocate their prey.

Yes, they sometimes bite humans and can draw blood, but, come on: do you really think a 30g bat is going to suck a human of all their blood?

Answer: Red fox

t is estimated that the red fox population extends to about 357,000. They are mainly nocturnal, but may be seen during the day as well.

While their natural habitat is woodland in the countryside, foxes have become adept at foraging in towns and cities. When this happens, they can also enter houses, usually through cat flaps, to find food.

Foxes can learn to feed from the human hand. While they look cute and there have been cases of some being raised from young as pets, this is a practice actively discouraged by animal welfare organisations. In 2005, hunting foxes with dog packs was made illegal in Great Britain.

Answer: Brown rat

The brown rat was not a native creature to the British Isles. It is thought they arrived in the 18th Century as 'stowaways' on ships from Russia.

The estimated rat population, at time of writing was 7.7m - yes, 7.7million. If you thought rabbits were prolific breeders, a female brown rat can have up to 2,000 pups (or kittens) a year. (Some sources say 1,250.) No wonder a group of rats is called "a mischief".

Myth buster: Scientists now believe that the bubonic plague that killed 24m people in Europe from the 14th Century was not caused by fleas from rats. Fleas and ticks on humans was the most accurate model for explaining the spread of the disease, studies have shown. "The consensus seems to be that the plague spread too fast for rats to be the culprit carriers." [Source: History.com]

Answer: Common mole

It is estimated that Great Britain has a mole population of 41.4m - yes, 41.4m. That has resulted in some very angry gardeners in Great Britain confronted with their burrowing habits.

Moles arrived in Great Britain from continental Europe before the last ice age. When the ice melted, rising sea levels prevented moles from migrating to Ireland. (There was some hilarity a few years ago when the German supermarket company Lidl advertised that mole repellent was on sale in their Northern Ireland stores.)

Answer: Grey Squirrel

Once again this is a species that was introduced to a country for seemingly good reasons that turned out disastrous to native fauna and flora. Grey squirrels were introduced from the Americas and soon took over from the native red squirrels.

In the 1870s, landowners thought grey squirrels were cute and released them onto their property. Today, there are up to 2.7m in Great Britain and Ireland.

Because of the the damage they have done to the native squirrels and the severe damage they cause to trees, grey squirrels are considered vermin in the UK and can be humanely killed by shooting or trapping. If somehow you manage to catch a grey squirrel, it is illegal to release it back into the wild.

Answer: Hedgehog

Great Britain has an estimated 522,000 hedgehogs. They tend to live in hedgerows and are nocturnal. They hibernate between November and March.

Each hedgehog has about 16,000 spines. Their main diet is invertebrates and insects. They are also known to eat carrion, and also have an appetite for frogs and for birds' eggs.

Mostly, foxes and hedgehogs can live equitably. Badgers are their main predator. Meanwhile, if you find a hedgehog that is poorly and want to nurse it back to health, do not feed bread and milk. They are lactose intolerant. Special hedgehog foods can be bought in pet shops, or just give them moist cat or dog food. Be sure to leave out a dish of water.