mammal id - ecology training uk · tutorial summary • unmistakeable mammals • deer •...
TRANSCRIPT
Mammal ID
Acorn Ecology Certificate Course
Self-Study Tutorial
Tutorial Summary
• Unmistakeable mammals
• Deer
• Mustelids
• Small mammals
• Rabbits and Hares
• Squirrels
• Field signs o Foot prints
o Droppings
o Feeding signs
o Burrows
Note: This is a long and
complicated tutorial. Take
your time! Maybe do small
chunks and come back to it if
you are finding it hard going.
Make notes!
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
Roe Deer
Fallow Deer
Red deer
Muntjac
Here they all
are, look
carefully
at them and
then we will
go
through
features in
more detail.
Sika deer
Chinese
water deer
Size
Smallest
Red deer 1200 mm MSH
Fallow deer 1000 mm MSH
Sika deer 850 mm MSH
Roe deer 750 mm MSH
Chinese water deer 600 mm MSH
Muntjac 500 mm MSH
Biggest
Don’t rely on this
feature alone as size
can be very variable
(e.g. age)
MSH = Maximum Shoulder Height
Size
Rumps
Red Deer Sika Deer Fallow Deer
Roe Deer Muntjac Chinese Water Deer
Take real note of
this... it is a really
important part of
deer ID!
When disturbed,
deer often bound
away into the
distance so all you’ll
see is their rump…..
Antlers
Red deer
Sika deer
Fallow deer
Muntjac
Roe deer
Chinese water deer
do not grow antlers,
although male has
curved tusks
At some times of
the year they have
no antlers and
some females
don’t grow them.
Now let’s look in more detail at antlers...
Large Branched Antlers
Red deer
Sika deer
Double brow point
Single brow point Fallow deer
Broad and
flattened
Short antlers
Roe deer Muntjac
Short spiky antlers
Often only a single
spike protruding
backwards
Other distinguishing features
Tusks (on males)
Small, protruding
tusks Long curved tusks
Muntjac
Chinese water deer
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
Mustelids (family name)
• Otter
• Pine marten
• Polecat
• Stoat
• Weasel
• Mink
• and Badger
(footprints have 5 toes – more on that later...)
And now the ...
Comparative sizes
of Cat, Otter and
Weasel
Polecat dark fur,
distinctive face
mask
Pine Marten Pale ears,
Long bushy tail,
throat patch
Otter long tapering tail
American Mink white chin,
short bushy tail
Stoat Black tail tip, straight flank
Weasel Short tail, Wavy Flank
Ferret indistinct face mask,
pale fur
Mink
Otter
When swimming ...
Mustelids
American Mink
Pine Marten
Polecat
Now let’s look at some photos ...
Distinguishing Features
Stoat
The stoat has a
distinguishing black
tip to the tail
Weasel
White wavy
edge to
chest hair
‘Small’ mammals
• Mice
• Rats
• Dormice
• Voles
• Shrews
And now for the ...
Dormouse Large eyes,
well furred tail
Field Vole short ears, short tail (30%
of body)
Yellow
Necked
Mouse yellow
collar, long
thin tail, larger
than other
mice
House
Mouse long thin
tail,
greyish
Harvest
Mouse prehensile
tail, tiny size Wood Mouse large ears, long
thin tail
Bank Vole short ears,
ginger fur,
tail 50% of body
Shrews
• dd
Water Shrew (67-96 mm)
No hair fringe
Tail 50% body length
hair fringe
hair fringe on
backs of legs
Domed
head
Pygmy Shrew (40-60 mm)
Common Shrew (40-80 mm)
Black fur with white
underside
Tail longer,
thicker and
hairier than
Common
Venemous!
Squirrels
Red squirrel Grey squirrel Non-native
Bushy tail
with white
fringe
Grizzly grey
coat
No tufts
Long grey coat
Dark eye ring
Bushy tail
Ear tufts
Winter coat
is darker
(native and
rare)
Edible
Dormouse Non-native
Rabbits and Hares
Brown hare
Mountain hare
(Main species in Ireland)
Rabbit
Black
ear tips
Black tail
stripe
All white
tail
Black
ear tips No black
tips
All white
tail
Field signs: Hoof Prints
Dog (Various sizes
according to
variety)
(claw marks)
Domestic Cat
(no claw marks)
Polecat
Otter (front) Otter (hind)
Badger
Kidney-shaped pad,
claws, toes in a row
Stoat
Fox
Weasel
Mink
Hard ground Mink
Soft ground
Pine Marten
Footprints
Can you make
a cross?
Note the 5
toes of the
Mustelids
and 4 toes of
Carnivores
Webbing
visible on soft
ground
Droppings - Deer
Red Deer strong musky,
black/brown
Fallow Deer musky, earthy,
black/brown Roe Deer
earthy, wet leaf
litter, blackish
Muntjac (deer) damp hay Goat
strong, musky
Sheep damp hay
Point
Dimple
No point or dimple
You can’t be a mammal expert without knowing about poo! All deer
droppings have
a dimple and a
point
Droppings
Water Vole odourless
parallel sides Field Vole
odourless
parallel sides
Wood
Mouse House
Mouse smelly
Hare
Rabbit
Squirrel
Rat
Smelly, irregular
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
meat unpleasant
greenish black/brown
Polecat
foul: foetid meat, distinctly
unpleasant, blackish
Otter sweet jasmine tea,
laurel flowers,
slightly oily rag,
distinctive greenish
black/grey
Fox
foul: strong
musty, foxy
touch of old
socks,
black/grey
Pine marten sweet parma
violets, slightly
musky, distinctive
blackish
Weasel musky when
fresh, brown
Hedgehog sweet: faint smell of
linseed oil, blueish black
Stoat musky but not
too unpleasant,
blackish brown
Poo ID takes
practice in the field
– take a field
guide with you!
Badger foul: strong
musk, oily,
hint of hay,
blueish
black/brown
but depends
on seasonal
diet.
Feeding Signs
Dormouse
tooth marks on
the outside,
smooth inner
edge or ‘braided’
Woodmouse
tooth marks on
the outside,
chiselled inside
hole
Bank Vole
no tooth marks
on the outside –
chiselled inside
hole chiselled
Smooth or
‘braided’
Tooth marks on
the outside
Squirrel
cracked in
half or
shattered
Nibbled Cones
Handled by a
squirrel -
ragged
Stripped by
wood mouse
- smooth
Cone scale
cut from
right to left
by ‘right
handed’
squirrel
Cones completely
stripped by grey squirrel
– scruffy and ragged
Typical shape
of cone
handled by
red squirrel
Dropped scales
Other Feeding Signs
Deer Hare
Hare
Deer
Sheep
Field Vole
Bank Vole
Look at tooth
marks, angle
and smoothness
of cut and area
on the trunk
they target
according to
their height.
Relative Burrow Shapes and
Sizes
Badger - D-shape, often
many holes and lots of spoil
Rabbit –
round holes
Water Vole – neat lawn
Rat - runs
Fox –
tall oval,
smelly
Otter
Spraint – fishy smell, tarry, on
prominent places like rocks on
riverbanks
Footprints – look in fine wet
mud on river banks
A few photos ...
Water Vole
Latrine – piles of droppings
in prominent places Burrows
- lawns around
them, near
water level
Feeding signs – piles of
chopped vegetation
Chewed
rushes
(note 45
degree angle)
Badger
Footprint
Spoil outside a sett
Well-worn badger run Latrine – in a pit
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