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British and Irish Mammals.Page 1.
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The badger is a shy animal that forages at night using its strong claws and snout to dig up worms and grubs, although it is opportunistic and will eat many other things it finds, during its nocturnal rambles. It makes its home in a burrow called a set, these sets often consist of several family groups living together is a community. Badgers were often blamed for giving TB tuberculoses to cattle, and were often hunted with dogs and men with spades who dug up the set. |
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The red squirrel seen in many of Ireland's woodlands is native to the country. It has been displaced from many of its previous habitats by the grey squirrel introduced from north America. The squirrel's habit of burying nuts for future use is beneficial to the woodlands as it often forgets where the nuts are buried and trees grow from the nuts and seeds. |
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The Brown Hare is not nearly as common as it once was, mainly due to intensive agricultural practices. Unlike the rabbit the hare doesn't dig a burrow, it makes a nest it long grass. Hare coursing was once a common spectacle in Ireland, hares were released in a field and greyhounds were used to catch and kill them, The practice is now outlawed, |
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The common shrew is a tiny mouse like creature with a long nose, contrary to its name it is not often seen. Its normal habitat is in hedgerows where it lives in a burrow. It eats worms and grubs as well as insects, the
shrew's courage is totally out of proportion to its size, when cornered
it it will defend itself tenaciously. |
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The harvest mouse is not as common as once, again changing agricultural practices have severely restricted its opportunities. In past times grain crops were left in the fields after they were cut, firstly in stook's and then in Barts or Rick's, the harvest mouse made his home in these and feasted on the grain. Today the crops are cut with a combine harvester and taken to the harm to be stored in bulk. |
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