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Large mammals are not particularly numerous in Great Britain. Many of the large 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 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]]
[[File:Hedgehog-among-leaves.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=A hedgehog at night|A [[European hedgehog]]]]
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[[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>
[[Eurasian beaver|Eurasian beavers]] were formerly native to Britain before becoming extinct by the early 16th century due to hunting. Efforts are being made to reintroduce beavers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How beavers are returning to England's forests |url=https://www.forestryengland.uk/blog/how-beavers-are-returning-englands-forests |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Forestry England |language=en-gb}}</ref>
There are a variety of carnivores, especially from the weasel family (ranging in size from the [[weasel]], [[stoat]] and [[European polecat]] to the [[European badger]], [[pine marten]], recently introduced [[mink]] and semiaquatic [[otter]]). In the absence of the locally extinct [[grey wolf]] and [[brown bear]] the largest carnivores are the badger, [[red fox]], the adaptability and opportunism of which has allowed it to proliferate in the urban environment, and the [[European wildcat]] whose elusiveness has caused some confusion over population numbers, and is believed to be highly endangered, partly by hybridisation with the domestic cat.
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Great Britain has about forty species of native [[freshwater fish]], of which the largest is the [[salmon]]. The [[saltwater fish]] include some larger species such as sharks.
== Extinct or extirpated animals ==
== See also ==▼
During the previous [[Eemian Interglacial]] (130-115,000 years ago) when Britian had a similar or slightly warmer temperate climate as it does today,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Russell Coope |first=G. |date=2000-08 |title=The climatic significance of coleopteran assemblages from the Eemian deposits in southern England |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0016774600021740/type/journal_article |journal=Netherlands Journal of Geosciences |language=en |volume=79 |issue=2-3 |pages=257–267 |doi=10.1017/S0016774600021740 |issn=0016-7746}}</ref> the large mammal fauna of Britain was considerably more diverse than it is at present or earlier in the [[Holocene]]. Large herbivore species present during the Eemian not present in Britain during the Holocene include the large [[straight-tusked elephant]],<ref name=":0" /> the [[narrow-nosed rhinoceros]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Asperen |first=Eline N. |last2=Kahlke |first2=Ralf-Dietrich |date=2015-01 |title=Dietary variation and overlap in Central and Northwest European Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and S. hemitoechus (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia) influenced by habitat diversity |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379114003886 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=107 |pages=47–61 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.001}}</ref> the [[hippopotamus]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schreve |first=Danielle C. |date=January 2009 |title=A new record of Pleistocene hippopotamus from River Severn terrace deposits, Gloucester, UK—palaeoenvironmental setting and stratigraphical significance |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0016787809000054 |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |language=en |volume=120 |issue=1 |pages=58–64 |bibcode=2009PrGA..120...58S |doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2009.03.003}}</ref> [[Irish elk]] and [[bison]], in addition to the currently present roe, fallow and red deer.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Turner |first=Alan |date=2009-12 |title=The evolution of the guild of large Carnivora of the British Isles during the Middle and Late Pleistocene |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.1278 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=24 |issue=8 |pages=991–1005 |doi=10.1002/jqs.1278 |issn=0267-8179}}</ref> Large carnivores present during this time include hyenas (''[[Crocuta spelaea]]'') and lions (''[[Panthera spelaea]]'') in addition to wolves and brown bears.<ref name=":1" /> The [[European pond turtle]] was also present in Britain during this time.<ref name=":0" /> During the Holocene, Britain was inhabited by the [[aurochs]] (the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle) until its extinction around 3,500 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Stephen J. G. |date=2008-04 |title=A comparative analysis of the habitat of the extinct aurochs and other prehistoric mammals in Britain |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2008.5193.x |journal=Ecography |language=en |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=187–190 |doi=10.1111/j.0906-7590.2008.5193.x |issn=0906-7590}}</ref> The [[Eurasian lynx]] was also formerly native to Britain during the Holocene, with its youngest records dating to around 1,500 years ago during the early Medieval period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hetherington |first=David A. |last2=Lord |first2=Tom C. |last3=Jacobi |first3=Roger M. |date=2006-01 |title=New evidence for the occurrence of Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) in medieval Britain |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.960 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=3–8 |doi=10.1002/jqs.960 |issn=0267-8179}}</ref>
▲== See also ==
* [[British Overseas Territories#Biodiversity|Biodiversity in British Overseas Territories]]
* [[Fauna of Europe]]
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