The Otter valley is inside an area of local natural beauty.  We have a variety of native mammals that can be seen at different times of the year. Below you will find pictures taken by local photographers of different mammals within the Otter valley.  Beneath the photographs, you will find some local commentary from David White about spotting & identifying these species.

Observed Species:

(Click on various images to view further details - work in progress)

Badgers	Beavers	Brown Rats	Common Shrew	Foxes
Grey Squirrels	Hares & Leverets	Dormice	Hedgehogs	Mink
Moles	Otters	Polecats	Rabbits	Roe Deer
Seals	Voles	Weasels	Watershrew	Wood Mice

Some local information to help you spot and identify mammals in the local area:

• Badgers are generally active at night. They live in extensive burrow systems, or setts, dug with their broad powerful fore claws. Setts are usually in woodland, & include sleeping chambers where they regularly change their bedding. Earthworms are the animals main food item. 
• Foxes are resourceful animals mostly active at night. They forage for whatever food is available, scavenging from carcasses; or killing small mammals such as voles & rabbits. They are alert & wary, with an acute sense of smell.
• Otters can be very difficult to spot! You are much more likely to see their footprints or spraint [ territorial scent markings ]. Fish are their main food source.
• Stoats are slim & savage & one of our fiercest predators active by day & night. Stoats, even young ones have a black tip to the tail which is absent in weasels. They can kill a rabbit more than twice their size.
• Weasels look like a long thin fast-moving mouse. They can be seen during the day or night & mice are their main food item. Most weasels do not live more than a year. Many are killed on roads. Cats, owls, foxes,& birds of prey will also kill weasels; but risk a hard fight when trying to do so.
• Polecats have recently returned to our area where they are successfully breeding again. Commonest on farmland, they can hybridise with feral ferrets.
• Mink is a non-native species from North America which can cause havoc with our native ecosystems. They eat a wide range of foods including fish such as trout & salmon; water birds & their nestlings. A number of colour variants occur.
• A grey seal has been seen on several occasions, usually close very high tides, entering the new marshes.
• Moles are rarely seen as much of their life is spent in underground tunnels.. Its presence is evident by the soil heaps, or mole hills, which it makes while tunnelling. The main food is earthworms. These are full of soil so not very nutritious. As a result, moles eat over half their body weight in food every day.
• Hedgehogs are our only spiney mammal. After experiencing a huge national decline, they now seen to be doing well in several local areas. Most young are born in early summer, but second litters are becoming more common & these often need help to enable them to survive their first winter. A local hedgehog rescue centre does much to improve the lives & well being of our local hedgehogs. The use of garden chemicals such as insecticides & slug pellets should always be avoided. This will help our hedgehogs survive.
• Roe deer occur in small numbers in our area. They mostly occupy wooded area, heaths & farmland. Males [ bucks] have small antlers which are absent in the female's [does].
• Brown hares can be identified by their large eyes & long ears. which provide them with excellent sight & hearing. The best time to look for them is early morning or late evening. Even when feeding, it doesn't keep its head down for long; frequently surveying its surrounding areas.
• Rabbits are smaller than hares with shorter ears & almost dark coloured eyes. They are social creatures living in burrow systems known as colonies. Often these are found at field edges & hedgerows. The flea borne infection, myxomatosis, continues to infect our wild populations from time-to-time causing fluctuations in their numbers.
• Grey squirrels are a familiar sight to many people especially at or near garden bird feeders. They are agile & acrobatic, but also do much damage to our young native broad leaved woodland tree species; especially when stripping bark from near the growing crown of the young tree.

Identifying rats, mice, voles, shrews, & dormice can be a challenge.

• Brown rats are a well-known widespread pest. When food & shelter is abundant. They can produce 5 litters a year. Young rats have larger feet & a thicker tail than mice.
• Mice have pointed faces, big eyes, prominent ears & a long thin tail. The filed mouse & the wood mouse are the same species. Living in fields in spring & summer when food is plentiful there. Then moving to more sheltered areas among woodland leaf litter for Autumn & winter where tree seeds such as beech mast & acorns can 
• Voles have chubby & round faces with short noses & fairly small eyes & ears.
• Shrews have very long pointed noses, small ears & tiny pin head sized eyes. Interestingly, no common shrew can tolerate another in its territory except briefly at breeding time. Many fall prey to owls; other predators being deterred by the foul-tasting glands in the shrew's skin. Cats may kill shrews, but rarely eat one.
• Water shrews can be almost black with a pale belly. Mild poison in its saliva may help it subdue large prey items such as frogs.
• Pygmy shrews are Britain's smallest mammal. They are so tiny & close to the limit at which a warm blooded mammal can exist. [ No image available yet ] 
• Harvest mice are one of Europe's smallest rodents, weighing less than a 2p piece. They have a grasping tail. The images used are animals which are part of a breeding programme where their planned release back into the wild is taking place to boost dwindling populations.
• Dormice are rarely seen due to their nocturnal habits. They feed on insects, nuts & flowers. In winter they hibernate alone in a nest built on or near the ground. A few dormice are known to be active near the new lower otter nature reserve. 

If you spot any of these species, or have questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch - either here, or through our facebook group.