Fauna of Great Britain: Difference between revisions

Like many temperate areas, Great Britain has few snake species: the [[European adder]] is the only venomous snake to be found there. The other notable snakes found in Great Britain are the [[barred grass snake]] and the [[Coronella austriaca|smooth snake]]. Great Britain has three native species of lizard: [[Anguis fragilis|slowworm]]s, [[sand lizard]]s and [[viviparous lizard]]s. There are also turtles, such as [[leatherback turtle]]s to be found in the [[Irish Sea]], although these are rarely seen. Other reptile species exist but are not native: [[aesculapian snake]], [[Podarcis muralis|wall lizard]] and [[Lacerta viridis|green lizard]].

Large mammals are not particularly numerous in Great Britain. Many of the biggerlarge mammal species, such as the [[grey wolf]] and the [[brown bear]], were hunted to extinction many centuries ago. However, in recent times some of these large mammals have been tentatively reintroduced to some areas of mainland Britain. The largest wild mammals that remain in Britain today are predominantly members of the [[deer]] family. The [[red deer]] is the largest native mammal species, and is common throughout [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]].

The other indigenous species is the [[roe deer]]. The common [[fallow deer]] is in factwas not nativenaturally topresent Britain during the Holocene, having been brought over from [[France]] by the [[Normans]] in the late 11th century. It has become well established.,<ref>[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php The Fallow Deer Project, University of Nottingham] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315225356/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php |date=2008-03-15 }}</ref> though the fallow deer was naturally present in Britain during the previous [[Eemian interglacial]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=K. H. |last2=Gray |first2=H. W. I. |last3=Lister |first3=A. M. |last4=Spassov |first4=N. |last5=Welch |first5=A. J. |last6=Trantalidou |first6=K. |last7=De Cupere |first7=B. |last8=Bonillas |first8=E. |last9=De Jong |first9=M. |last10=Çakırlar |first10=C. |last11=Sykes |first11=N. |last12=Hoelzel |first12=A. R. |date=2024-02-12 |title=Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=3015 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-48112-6 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=10861457 |pmid=38346983|bibcode=2024NatSR..14.3015B }}</ref> The [[sika deer]] is another small species of deer which is not indigenous, originating from [[Japan]]. It is widespread and expanding in Scotland from west to east, with a strong population in [[Peeblesshire]]. Bands of sika exist across the north and south of England though the species is absent in Wales.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ratcliffe, P. R. |year=1987 |title=Distribution and current status of Sika deer, ''Cervus nippon'', in Great Britain |journal=Mammal Review |volume=17 |pages=39–58|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.1987.tb00047.x}}</ref>

[[Rodent]]s are also numerous across Britain, particularly the brown rat which is by far the most abundant urban mammal after humans. Some however, are becoming increasingly rare. [[Habitat]] destruction has led to a decrease in the population of [[dormice]] and [[bank vole]]s found in Britain. Due to the introduction of the North American [[Eastern gray squirrel|grey squirrel]], the [[red squirrel]] had become largely extinct in England and Wales, with the last populations existing in parts of North West England and on the [[Isle of Wight]]. [[European rabbit]] and [[European hare]] were introduced in Roman times,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/rabbits.shtml |title=BBC - Science & Nature - Pets - Rabbits |access-date=2012-04-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630035620/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/rabbits.shtml |archive-date=2012-06-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Hare|title=BBC Nature - Hare videos, news and facts|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> while the indigenous [[mountain hare]] remains only in Scotland and a small re-introduced population in Derbyshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hare-preservation-trust.co.uk/mountain.html|title=Hare Preservation Trust|website=Hare-preservation.trust.co.uk|access-date=6 January 2018|archive-date=2 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502102132/http://www.hare-preservation-trust.co.uk/mountain.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>