Mammal ID Tutorial Summary

Acorn Ecology Certificate Course Self-Study Tutorial Mammal ID Tutorial Summary • Unmistakeable mammals • Deer • Mustelids Note: This is a long and • Small mammals complicated tutorial. Take your time! Maybe do small • Rabbits and Hares chunks and come back to it if • Squirrels you are finding it hard going. • Field signs Make notes! o Foot prints o Droppings o Feeding signs o Burrows Unmistakable Mammals • Badger • Fox • Mole • Hedgehog (easy!) Deer • Deer are long-legged herbivores with cloven hooves and the males usually have antlers • Six species of deer occur in the British countryside (*only two are native) – Red deer* – Fallow deer – Roe deer* – Muntjac – Chinese water deer – Sika deer Sika deer Fallow Deer Red deer Here they all are, look carefully at them and then we will go Chinese through water deer features in more detail. Muntjac Roe Deer Size Biggest Red deer 1200 mm MSH Fallow deer 1000 mm MSH Don’t rely on this feature alone as size Sika deer 850 mm MSH can be very variable (e.g. age) Roe deer 750 mm MSH Chinese water deer 600 mm MSH Muntjac 500 mm MSH Smallest MSH = Maximum Shoulder Height Size Rumps When disturbed, deer often bound away into the distance so all you’ll see is their rump….. Red Deer Sika Deer Fallow Deer Take real note of this... it is a really important part of deer ID! Roe Deer Muntjac Chinese Water Deer Antlers Red deer Roe deer Chinese water deer do not grow antlers, although male has curved tusks At some times of Muntjac the year they have no antlers and Fallow deer some females Sika deer don’t grow them. Now let’s look in more detail at antlers... Large Branched Antlers Broad and Double brow point flattened Single brow point Fallow deer Red deer Sika deer Short antlers Often only a single spike protruding Short spiky antlers backwards Roe deer Muntjac Other distinguishing features Tusks (on males) Small, protruding Long curved tusks tusks Chinese water deer Muntjac Other distinguishing features White spots on back Sika deer Fallow deer (can also be pure white, pure black and variations in between!) Other distinguishing features Distinctive black nose and white chin Roe deer Red Deer Females have no antlers Orange/brown fur Large animal And now the ... Mustelids (family name) • Otter • Pine marten • Polecat • Stoat • Weasel • Mink • and Badger (footprints have 5 toes – more on that later...) Comparative sizes of Cat, Otter and Weasel Weasel Pine Marten Short tail, Wavy Flank Pale ears, Long bushy tail, throat patch Stoat Black tail tip, straight flank Polecat dark fur, American Mink distinctive face white chin, mask short bushy tail Ferret indistinct face mask, Otter pale fur long tapering tail Mink When swimming ... Otter Now let’s look at some photos ... Mustelids American Mink Pine Marten Polecat Distinguishing Features The stoat has a distinguishing black tip to the tail Stoat White wavy edge to chest hair Weasel And now for the ... ‘Small’ mammals • Mice • Rats • Dormice • Voles • Shrews Bank Vole short ears, ginger fur, tail 50% of body Dormouse Large eyes, well furred tail House Field Vole Mouse short ears, short tail (30% of body) long thin tail, greyish Yellow Necked Mouse yellow collar, long thin tail, larger Harvest than other Mouse mice prehensile Wood Mouse tail, tiny size large ears, long thin tail Shrews Common Shrew (40-80 mm) Tail longer, • dd Domed thicker and head hairier than Common No hair fringe Pygmy Shrew (40-60 mm) Tail 50% body length Black fur with white underside hair fringe hair fringe on backs of legs Water Shrew (67-96 mm) Venemous! Squirrels Red squirrel Grey squirrel Non-native No tufts Bushy tail with white fringe Grizzly grey coat Winter coat is darker (native and rare) Ear tufts Dark eye ring Edible Dormouse Non-native Bushy tail Long grey coat Rabbits and Hares Black No black Black ear tips ear tips tips Black tail stripe All white tail Brown hare All white Rabbit tail Mountain hare (Main species in Ireland) Field signs: Hoof Prints Footprints Domestic Cat (no claw marks) Dog (Various sizes Webbing visible on soft according to ground variety) Otter (front) Otter (hind) (claw marks) Polecat Can you make a cross? Fox Pine Marten Note the 5 toes of the Badger Mink Mustelids Kidney-shaped pad, and 4 toes of claws, toes in a row Hard ground Mink Carnivores Stoat Weasel Soft ground You can’t be a mammal expert without knowing about poo! All deer droppings have Droppings - Deer a dimple and a point Point Dimple Red Deer strong musky, Fallow Deer black/brown Roe Deer musky, earthy, earthy, wet leaf black/brown litter, blackish Muntjac (deer) Sheep Goat damp hay damp hay strong, musky No point or dimple Droppings Rabbit Water Vole odourless Field Vole parallel sides Rat odourless parallel sides Smelly, irregular Squirrel Wood Hare House Mouse Mouse smelly Comparing Mouse and Bat Droppings Both found in lofts, barns etc and look similar in size, shape and texture. Bat droppings are fairly odour-free except when wet when they smell strongly of ammonia. Can be shiny black or grainy. More Droppings Mink foul: burnt rubber, rotten Polecat meat unpleasant foul: foetid meat, distinctly greenish black/brown Weasel musky when unpleasant, blackish fresh, brown Otter Fox sweet jasmine tea, foul: strong laurel flowers, Badger musty, foxy slightly oily rag, foul: strong touch of old distinctive greenish musk, oily, socks, Pine marten black/grey hint of hay, black/grey sweet parma Poo ID takes blueish Stoat violets, slightly black/brown musky but not musky, distinctive practice in the field but depends too unpleasant, blackish – take a field on seasonal Hedgehog blackish brown guide with you! diet. sweet: faint smell of linseed oil, blueish black Feeding Signs Woodmouse Bank Vole tooth marks on no tooth marks the outside, on the outside – chiselled inside chiselled chiselled inside hole hole Squirrel cracked in half or shattered Tooth marks on the outside Dormouse tooth marks on the outside, smooth inner edge or ‘braided’ Smooth or ‘braided’ Nibbled Cones Stripped by Handled by a wood mouse squirrel - - smooth ragged Cone scale cut from right to left by ‘right Typical shape handed’ of cone squirrel handled by red squirrel Cones completely stripped by grey squirrel Dropped scales – scruffy and ragged Other Feeding Signs Look at tooth marks, angle and smoothness Hare of cut and area on the trunk they target according to their height. Field Vole Deer Hare Sheep Bank Vole Deer Relative Burrow Shapes and Sizes Rat - runs Water Vole – neat lawn Fox – tall oval, smelly Rabbit – round holes Badger - D-shape, often many holes and lots of spoil A few photos ... Otter Spraint – fishy smell, tarry, on prominent places like rocks on riverbanks Footprints – look in fine wet mud on river banks Water Vole Latrine – piles of droppings in prominent places Burrows - lawns around them, near water level Chewed rushes (note 45 degree angle) Feeding signs – piles of chopped vegetation Badger Spoil outside a sett Footprint Latrine – in a pit Well-worn badger run Now go and practice! • There is a lot to learn! • Go out and practice • Go out with an expert • Use a guide book • Never pass some poo or wet mud with footprints again! • Explore, sniff, crumble, observe ... • Enjoy! References • FSC Guide- Key to British Land Mammals • Rob Strachan (1998) Mammal Detective. Whittet Books: Suffolk • Bang, P (2009) Collins Guide to Animal Tracks and Signs. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd: Glasgow. • Sargent,G. and Morris,P. How to find and identify mammals, The Mammal Society .

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