Acorn Ecology Certificate Course Self-Study Tutorial

Mammal ID Tutorial Summary

• Unmistakeable • • 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

• Six species of deer occur in the British countryside (*only two are native)

– * – Fallow deer – * – – Chinese water 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 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 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 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