FOX - Notice Nature Animated Posters.pdf · The fox has a thick red-brown coat with white...

PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE – PLEASE DO NOT LITTER

SIONNACHFOX

Vulpes vulpes

ENFO17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2. LoCall: 1890 200 191 Tel: (01) 888 3911 / (01) 888 3933Email: [email protected]: www.enfo.ie

ENFO17 Sráid San Aindrias, Baile Átha Cliath 2.LoCall: 1890 200 191 Teil: (01) 888 3911 / (01) 888 3933R.phost: [email protected]éasán: www.enfo.ie

The Fox has been with us for a long, long time. Throughout the years, he has been hunted by man,but, because he is an intelligent animal, he has been able to survive all the trapping, hunting andshooting. The fox is still very common all over this country. You may not have seen these handsomeanimals because they usually spend the daylight hours sleeping, only coming out to hunt when itgets dark. The fox has a thick red-brown coat with white underparts and a long white-tipped tail orbrush. He and the female fox (a vixen) live in an ‘earth’ or underground burrow. Sometimes they

occupy a badger’s ‘sett’ or a rabbit’s burrow. The badger’s neat home is soon turned into a bit of amess by the untidy fox family! In April, three to six cubs are born. Foxes are very good parents. Unlikesome other wild animals, the dog-fox is an excellent father. He provides food for the vixen and hercubs and helps his mate to rear the family. The cubs begin to leave home in the late summer. Theysoon go their own separate ways, for foxes are solitary animals and prefer to be on their own. Foxesdo a very important job of controlling the numbers of pests like rats and mice.

The little stars on this maprepresent the distribution

of Foxes throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is

equivalent to 100 kilometresby 100 kilometres.

INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT

FOXSIONNACH

Vulpes vulpes

IORA RUARED SQUIRREL

Sciurus vulgaris

PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE – PLEASE DO NOT LITTERENFO17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2. LoCall: 1890 200 191 Tel: (01) 888 3911 / (01) 888 3933Email: [email protected]: www.enfo.ie


Everyone loves the Red Squirrel because of the colour of its coat and beautiful big tail. These prettylittle creatures like to live in coniferous (or cone-bearing) woodlands. Squirrels are wonderfulacrobats, scampering up and down the tree and jumping from branch to branch. The male squirrelbuilds a big nest or drey in the tree and it is a cosy home for his family. The drey is made of twigs,leaves, mosses and bark. Squirrels do not hibernate in the winter but they avoid the cold and wetweather. They like a good sleep but they wake up if the weather improves. A squirrel eats nuts,

acorns, pine seeds, fungi and berries. During the autumn, this food is stored away for winter use,carefully hidden in holes or hollows. But the forgetful creatures often can’t remember where theyput the hidden food!There are also a large number of Grey Squirrels in this country. They were originally brought overhere from North America. Grey squirrels are bigger than our native red squirrels and can eat moretypes of food and so are replacing reds in many areas.

The little stars on this map representthe distribution

of Red Squirrels throughout Ireland.Each square on the map is

equivalent to 100 kilometres by 100kilometres. INFORMATION ON

THE ENVIRONMENT

RED SQUIRRELIORA RUA

Sciurus vulgaris

DOBHARCHÚOTTER

Lutra lutra



Not very many people have seen an otter. This is a pity, for it is one of our most graceful and attractive animals. Lookinglike an overgrown stoat, the otter has a long body and tail and short legs. It is a semi-aquatic creature, equally at homeon land or in the water. The otter is a wonderful swimmer with a body perfectly suited to underwater activity. Its coatis waterproof and with webbed toes and a long tail for a rudder, it can swim effortlessly in search of prey, such as coarsefish, eels and frogs, etc. Large lungs enable it to take a deep breath which keeps it going under the water for threeminutes or more. Out of the water, an otter will hunt for rabbits, mice, voles and birds. Otters live near water, besidelakes, rivers and streams. They make a home called a “holt” in a bank with the entrance under the water or it may be in

an old rotten tree-stump. The mother otter has a litter of one to three “whelps” which are born blind. the babies remainin the holt for about eight weeks after birth and both parents hunt to feed them. After this period, the whelps aretaught to swim. The strange thing is that they are not too keen to take to the water. They have to be coaxed to followthe mother otter across shallow water. Sometimes the babies have to pushed down the river bank. Once in the water,they soon become expert at catching their own food. Otters are very playful and even when they are fully grown, theylove to slide down muddy banks into the water. Otters are a protected animal but are often harmed by water pollution,so make sure to never pollute water.

OTTERDOBHARCHÚ


of Otters throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



LUCH FHÉIRFIELD MOUSE

Apodemus sylvaticus



The Field Mouse is one of our prettiest little animals. It has a coat of brown and white fur with anorange spot on the chest. This tiny, timid creature has a long tail, large oval ears and huge short-sighted eyes. In spite of its name, it can also be found in hedgerows, scrub, woods and even sand-dunes. Field Mice sleep during the day and move around at night. They are very active animals,running, hopping and climbing, always on the look-out for seeds, berries, nuts and insects. They liketo save food and sometimes they scramble up a tree to use an old bird’s nest as a food store. TheField Mouse makes a burrow about three feet below the surface. This burrow has three entrances.

The breeding nest is made of shredded grass and is found at the end of the burrow. The mother FieldMouse produces a litter of four to eight babies and she may have three or more litters in one year.The young are born blind and they open their eyes in about a fortnight. They remain in the familyburrow even when they are fully-grown, sharing it with brothers and sisters and other relatives. FieldMice have good reason to be nervous for they have many enemies such as cats, dogs, stoats, foxesand crows. Field Mice do not hibernate although they are less active in the winter. They have the foodwhich they stored in burrows or holes during Autumn.

The little stars on this maprepresent the distribution of

Field Mice throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is

equivalent to 100 kilometres by 100 kilometres.


FIELD MOUSELUCH FHÉIR

Apodemus sylvaticus

EASÓGSTOAT

Mustela erminea



The Irish stoat is an elegant little animal with a long slender body and neck, short legs and a black-tipped tail.Many people call it a weasel but there are not weasels in Ireland. Its coat is reddish-brown above with white oryellowish underparts. Stoats live in woods, high moorland, mountains and open country where there are walls,hedges and ditches. Like other furry animals, stoats spend a lot of daylight hours sleeping, emerging at night tohunt. However, they can sometimes be seen frolicking in the sunshine, jumping dancing, turning somersaults andwriggling like a snake. Although stoats are so playful, they are very skilled and fierce killers! They will attack rats,mice, birds, leverets and animals such as rabbits which are much bigger than themselves. When confronted by a

stoat, a rabbit is often so terrified that it becomes paralysed with fear and may even die of fright! Because theydestroy huge numbers of rodents in this way, stoats are much more beneficial than harmful. The stoat itself hasenemies such as owls, foxes, cats, dogs and people who tend poultry and game. Stoats breed once a year, motherstoat producing a litter in March/April. The stoat nursery may be a hold in a bank, a hollow tree trunk, a rockcrevice or a rabbit’s burrow. There may be up to ten babies in a litter, blind for the first nine days. They developvery quickly and, in no time at all, they can follow their mother when she goes hunting. Stoats are very inquisitiveanimals and, if anything catches their attention, they will stand upright folding their paws over their chests.


of Stoats throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



STOATEASÓGMustela erminea

GRÁINNEOGHEDGEHOG

Erinaceus europaeus



The hedgehog is unlike any of our other small animals. Instead of being soft and furry, its head and bodyare covered with hard pointed prickles which help to protect it from other animals which might want toeat it. During the daylight hours, the hedgehog lies curled up asleep in a bed of leaves, grass and moss.The prickly little creature usually emerges when the sun goes down, grunting and sniffing, hunting forworms, snails, slugs, beetles and other insects. The hedgehog’s sight may be poor but its hearing andsense of smell are very sensitive. The tread of paws on the soil alerts it of possible danger and it will rollup into a ball to protect itself from attack. Hedgehogs are good climbers and good swimmers, too. When

hedgehogs are born, four or five to each litter, they are blind. Their short white spines soon become strongand sharp. The family lives under bushes, in hollows or under tree roots. During autumn, hedgehogs eat asmuch as possible to get fat for the winter. As the weather gets colder, the hedgehog’s food becomesscarce and the animal becomes drowsy and slow-moving. It makes a bed, sometimes in a rabbit hole, andcurls up for a long winter’s sleep. A mild spell of weather sets in, the hedgehog goes into a deep sleep,waking up in March thin and hungry. It begins to hunt for food at once in the spring sunshine. Hedgehogsdo an important job of controlling the number of slugs and snails in our fields and gardens.

HEDGEHOGGRÁINNEOG

Erinaceus europaeus


Hedgehogs throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



COINÍNRABBIT

Oryctolagus cuniculus



As can be seen on the map, rabbits are widespread throughout this country. They live in large colonies or warrensand spend most of the time underground in tunnels called burrows, coming out at dawn and dusk to eat andexercise. They make their burrows among grasslands, woods, sand-dunes and cultivated fields. Because they eatonly vegetable matter, rabbits can do great damage to agricultural crops with their chisel-like teeth or incisors. Arabbit is a timid animal and is always looking out for warnings of danger. Its eyes are very wide apart and it can seeall around without turning its head. With such good eyesight, a keen sense of smell and sensitive long ears, a rabbitsoon detects enemies such as stoats, foxes, badgers dogs – and man! Male rabbits are called bucks and females

are called does. A doe usually has eight or more babies between January and June. Before the litter is born, shedigs a hole in the ground and makes a cosy nest of leaves and ferns, lining it with fur plucked from her own chest.After the birth, the doe blocks the entrance to the breeding hole. The young rabbits are born naked, blind andhelpless, but very soon fur appears on their pink bodies and their big bright eyes open. After a couple of weeks, theyare able to run around and nibble the grass. It is believed that rabbits were introduced into Ireland by the Normansin the thirteenth century. Although they are common now, rabbits are not as numerous as they were in the 1950’s.At that time, a terrible disease called myxamatosis struck and hundreds of thousands of rabbits died.

The little stars on this maprepresent the distribution ofRabbits throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



RABBITCOINÍN

Oryctolagus cuniculus

RóN GLASGREY SEAL

Halichoerus grypus



There are two species of seals to be found around the coasts of Ireland, the Grey Seal and theCommon Seal. A seal is a fish-eating mammal whose body is perfectly adapted for life in the water. Ithas a pair of webbed flippers which it uses as a fish uses its tail. A male Grey Seal (bull) can measurefrom 210cm to 270cm. The female (cow) is smaller. A seal’s body is protected by a layer of fat calledblubber which is covered by a coat of close fur. When swimming underwater, a seal has a valve which itcan close to keep the water out of its nostrils. In the water, the seal is a graceful swimmer but ashoreits movements are awkward and clumsy. During the breeding season, Grey Seals gather in large

colonies on rocky coasts where there are cliffs and caves. The bull seal regards the females as his ownproperty and he will fight any young bull foolish enough to interfere. Baby seals (pups) are born inSeptember and October. With their coats of woolly white hair and big brown eyes, seal pups look likebig puppy dogs. At three weeks, the pup sheds its first coat and becomes darker. After about five orsix weeks it enters the sea. The mother seals play with their babies in the water and they guard themfiercely against any intruder. Female seals have a strange singing ‘hoot’ and when they gather in largenumbers ashore they make a loud wailing chorus which can be heard a long distance away.

GREY SEALRÓN GLAS

Halichoerus grypus


Grey Seals throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



*

FIA RUARED DEER

Cervus elaphus



The Red Deer is our biggest wild animal. The male deer is called a stag. He has large antlers whichbegin to grow in April of his second year and are fully grown by August or September. The female deeris called a hind. She does not have antlers. Stags and hinds usually keep apart in separate groups,but when the mating season begins in October/November, a stag leaves his group and joins the hinds.At this time, he will gather as many hinds as he can and will fight any other stag which tries to takeover the herd. Stags roar and bellow and try to lord it over the females but it is the hinds which arethe real leaders of the herds. Calves are born in June. They are brown with white spots. A calf will stay

with its mother for about a year. Red Deer herds are often large and may be seen on mountains andmoorlands. They used to live close to forests but, with the destruction by people of most of our trees,Red Deer have retreated to open country. These deer are very cautious animals. They have exceptionalsight and hearing with a wonderful sense of smell which warns them of danger. Herds search for foodand water at dusk. They eat grass, heather and young tree shoots and if there are too many deerthey do a lot of damage to woodlands by eating the seedling and bark of trees. Red Deer were huntedalmost to extinction in the past but are a protected species in this country now.

RED DEERFIA RUA

Cervus elaphus

The little stars on this maprepresent the distribution of Red Deer throughout Ireland.

Each square on the map isequivalent to 100 kilometres

by 100 kilometres.INFORMATION ON

THE ENVIRONMENT

BROCBADGER

Meles meles



The badger is a thick-set animal with a coarse grey coat and a handsome white, black striped head. Withits powerful limbs and bear-like claws, the badger is a great digger. Its home consists of tunnels which leadunderground to a main living chamber and smaller sleeping quarters. These tunnels are called “setts” andthey have large entrance holes. Setts are often dug in woodland on sloping ground and can be hundreds ofyears old. Badgers are tidy housekeepers and they make their homes comfortable with grass, straw,bracken and leaf mould. Cubs are born in early spring and they are blind at birth. The female (the sow) is avery caring mother who keeps her babies clean and free from ticks. The male (the boar) has to live in a

separate chamber before the cubs are born and he cannot visit the babies until the sow gives himpermission! When the cubs are ready to come out of the sett, they do not hunt with their parents. Theyplay noisily around the entrance, running about and digging holes. The adult badgers are night creaturesand when dusk comes, they emerge cautiously after sniffing and listening to make sure it is safe to startthe search for food. A badger has a large appetite and will eat almost anything! Young rabbits, rats, miceand frogs are caught and eaten. Earthworms, beetles, acorns and even bees’ and wasps’ nests are alsoeaten sometimes. Be careful not to throw litter in the countryside where our wonderful wildlife lives!

The little stars on this maprepresent the distribution ofBadgers throughout Ireland. Each square on the map is



BADGERBROCMeles meles

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