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There are also several species of [[insectivore]] found in Britain. The [[European hedgehog|hedgehog]] is probably the most widely known as it is a regular visitor to urban gardens. The [[European mole|mole]] is also widely recognised and its subterranean lifestyle causes much damage to garden lawns. [[Shrew]]s are also fairly common, and the smallest, the [[Eurasian pygmy shrew|pygmy shrew]], is one of the smallest mammals in the world. There are also seventeen species of [[bat]] found in Britain: the [[pipistrellus|pipistrelle]] is the smallest and the most common.
[[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 and [[invasive species|invasiveness]] of the North American [[Eastern gray squirrel|grey squirrel]], the [[red squirrel]] had become largely extirpated from England and Wales, with the last populations existing in parts of North West England and on the [[Isle of Wight]]. [[European rabbit]]s and [[European hare]]s were introduced in Roman times,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/rabbits.shtml |title=Archived copy |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}}</ref> [[Eurasian beaver|Beaver]]s have been reintroduced to Scotland with great success.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-58158296</ref>
There are a variety of carnivores, especially from the weasel family (ranging in size from the [[least weasel]], [[stoat]] and [[European polecat]] to the [[European badger]], [[pine marten]], recently introduced [[American mink]] and semiaquatic [[Eurasian otter]]). In the absence of the extirpated grey wolf, brown bear and lynx, the largest carnivores are the badger and [[red fox]], the adaptability and opportunism of which has allowed it to proliferate in the urban environment, and the [[Scottish wildcat]] population of the [[European wildcat]] (whose elusiveness has caused some confusion over population numbers, and is believed to be highly endangered, partly by hybridisation with domestic cats).
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