British Wild Mammals - Diploma

This course is for those who want to know more about our rich and varied mammal wildlife in Britain, so much of which often goes unseen or is sadly taken for granted.

Course Modules

1. The Insect Eaters (Insectivores)

• How and why animals are classified
• Evolution of the Mammals
• The dentition of the insectivores
• Hedgehogs and their characteristics
• Shrews and their characteristics
• Moles and their characteristics
• 2. Bats (Chiroptera)
• The history of bats
• Bats in Britain and the species that are found
• How to identify bats
• The wing anatomy of bats and how they fly
• Bat communication and mating behaviour in the Noctule bat
• Echolocation and how bats use it
• Hunting behaviour
• Hibernation
• Conservation of the British bat, What to do if you find a bat on the ground

• The types of rodents that are found in Britain
• Voles and their characteristics
• Rats and their characteristics
• Mice and their characteristics
• Dormice and their characteristics, Squirrels and their characteristics

• The carnivores - classification of the hunters
• The red fox and its behaviour
• The otter
• The weasel and stoat
• Polecats and pine martens
• Badgers and their behaviour
• Seals found around the coasts of Britain
• The Scottish wild cat

• An introduction to wild deer and the species found in Britain
• Mating behaviour of the red deer
• The fallow and roe deer
• Non-native species in the wild in Britain - the Sika deer and the Chinese water deer, Watching deer in Britain

• General characteristics of the lagomorphs
• Rabbits and their behaviour
• Brown hares and mountain hares and their behaviour and characteristics
• Other introduced species found in Britain, including grey squirrels, the muskrat, the coypu, wallabies, the muntjac deer, soay sheep, the American mink