It's time for a #MondayMammalFact, and this week's is about sea otters!
🦦#Seaotters have got pockets of baggy skin in their armpits, in which they store foraged food and their favourite rock. This rock is used to crack open hard-shelled prey, including #clams and #molluscs!🐚

Even though it is no longer Monday, it's time for the weekly #mondaymammalfact! #Hedgehogs protect themselves from #predators by smearing #poisonous plant substances all over their spines.
#Selfanointing has been observed in hedgehogs so young that their eyes haven't opened yet!

Today’s #mondaymammalfact is about one of most threatened mammals, the Wildcat! Wildcats came to the UK from Europe over 9,000 years ago when they were still connected by land, and have remained an isolated population since.

It’s the first Monday of #brocktober so for our #mondaymammalfact we’re celebrating badgers! The word badger only dates back to the 1500s, before this they were called ‘brock’ or ‘brocc’ which comes from the old English name for them. Place names like Brockhampton come from this

It’s the first Monday in #brocktober so for our #mondaymammalfact we’re celebrating badgers! The word badger has only existed since the 1500s, the older name for these charismatic natives is ‘Brock’ or ‘brocc’, which is the old English name

It’s time for another #mondaymammalfact ! Here in the UK we’re lucky enough to have 18 species of bat, the largest is the noctule (Nyctalus noctula), and the smallest is the pipstrelle (pipistrellus pipistrellus). The common pipistrelle weighs about the same as a 2p coin!

This week’s #mondaymammalfact focuses on the UK’s largest mustelid, the badger! Badgers are highly social animals with some strange courtship behaviours, for example the male will follow the female around and bite her on the back of the neck

Time for another #mondaymammalfact ! The tawny owl is responsible for the classic ‘twit twoo’ owl call, but it doesn’t actually come from a single owl - it’s a call and response, made up of the female’s ‘too-wit’ and the male’s answering ‘too-woo’

Because of their small size and light weight, squirrels can survive falls from almost any height. They can spread their body and tail wide creating more air resistance helping to slow their fall. #MondayMammalFact

The water shrew is Britain's largest shrew and as their name suggests, they live in wetland habitats. Water shrews actually have venomous saliva! This allows them to take on prey up to 60 times heaview than itself!
#MondayMammalFact

What does the fox say? Foxes make a wide range of vocalisations as a method of communication between individuals. The most notable of these are distinctive screaming sounds, usually made by females during the breeding season.

#MondayMammalFact #RedFox #BritishWildlife

It’s #mondaymammalfact time ! The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a lost native that’s starting to make its return to Britain. Did you know that during the mating season the males develop a protective layer of thick tissue to prevent injuries while fighting? #wildboar #rewilding

Because we’re having such unprecedented weather at the moment, instead of our #mondaymammalfact we thought we would give you all a couple tips on helping local wildlife.
Water ! Put out some dishes to give a helping hand, and consider a wildlife pond for next year’s heatwaves!

Beavers may be famous for making dams (pictured), but they also make other structures that are just as impressive. Beavers typically live in ‘lodges’ created from wood. These lodges have one or two chambers and can only be accessed through an underwater tunnel! #mondaymammalfact

Bats are the only true flying mammals, and the species we have in the UK make up almost a quarter of our total mammal species! We have 18 overall. Our four most at risk bat species are: barbastelle, greater mouse-eared bat, grey long-eared bat and serotine #mondaymammalfact

Fallow deer live in small herds throughout the year, with males gathering separately from females and their young. The breeding season occurs in autumn, when males and females come together in breeting territories for the rut.

#MondayMammalFact #FallowDeer #BritishWildlife

This week's #MondayMammalFact is all about rodents! The order containing almost 2,300 species including rats, mice and squirrels makes up 40% of all mammal species. Rodents are highly successful and diverse but are all categorised by their continuously growing incisors! 🐭🐿

#MondayMammalFact female lagomorphs (the order of mammals including rabbits and hares) are often larger than the males. This is very unusual for terrestrial mammals as in most species the male is larger 🐾🐇

Otters mark their territory with droppings known as "spraint" this often contains fish bones and scales and has a distinctive sweet smell. It can be a great way to tell of there are otters in an area! 🦦

#MondayMammalFact #Otter #BritishWildlife #MammalWeb

Time for our #MondayMammalFact ! The Wildcat (Felis silvestris) may look similar to a domestic cat, but the two species have some key distinctions, one example is that Wildcats - like most wild felids - have a shorter digestive tract for their exclusive diet of raw meat!

#MondayMammalFact Red deer (Cervus elaphus) are one of our two native UK deer, but did you know that if the mother is in poor condition she is more likely to give birth to a female calf, and if she is in good condition she is more likely to give birth to a male!

#MondayMammalFact 🦇 bats will make use of a range of structures to roost in from natural caves and tree cavities to artificial bat boxes and within buildings. The bat in the second picture was found inside a blue tit nestbox!

📸 Flickr

We took a break from our mammal facts for the past couple of weeks but we are back now with another #MondayMammalFact

Did you know wild boar have the largest natural range of any ungulate (hoofed mammal) being native to large areas of Europe, Africa and Asia 🐗

Brown hares (Lepus europaeus) are Britain's fastest land mammal, reaching speeds of over 45 miles per hour to avoid predators! #MondayMammalFact

Pine marten diet varies throughout the year. In the summer months they rely heavily on berries such as bilberry that can turn their droppings blue! #MondayMammalFact #PineMarten #BritishWildlife

Red deer are one of Britain's most charismatic species but they face hybridisation with introduced sika deer. Some suggest that pure red deer remain only on some Scottish islands, with all mainland deer being hybrids 🦌

#MondayMammalFact #RedDeer #SikaDeer #BritishWildlife

Otters have some of the densest fur of any mammal. Their double-layered coat is made up of stiff, oil-coated guard hairs that repel water and an undercoat that provides insulation #MondayMammalFact #BritishWildlife

#Squirrels build nests called dreys that are made up of twigs, feathers, leaves and moss. These can be adapted from old birds nests and even provide a structure for future birds nests so its not always easy to tell who a structure belongs to. #MondayMammalFact

Mood mice can eat a wide variety of foods, including berries, which they only eat the pips of! Their diet is otherwise very versatile, allowing them to thrive across most of the UK #MondayMammalFact #MammalMonday

Photo credit: Roland Ascroft

Badgers mate throughout the year, but most cubs are born in February. This is because females can delay implantation of a fertilised egg. Seasonal changes trigger implantation in the womb and cubs are born 6-8 weeks later regardless if when mating occurred! #MondayMammalFact