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 This selection of Irish animals, native or introduced, is taken from the Appletree Press title Animals of Ireland. There will be a number of extracts from the book in coming months. The book contains highly detailed full colour illustrations to complement the detailed explanatory text.
Animal AwarenessMost of the animals described in Irelandseye's adaptation of Animals of Ireland from Appletree Press are nocturnal, which means that good views are usually restricted to glimpses in car headlights or in the beam of a torch. It is possible to see many of them in the half-light of dawn or dusk. The best views are often quite unexpected and the would-be animal watcher who goes out after dark will often return home unrewarded. Certain animals like Pine martens, Bats and Badgers are more strictly nocturnal than others and may only occasionally be seen in daylight. Others, like Stoats, Foxes and Otters, are regularly seen during the day, while Hares, Rabbits and similar grazers are decidedly diurnal. However, some animals (like Deer), being understandably wary of people, are difficult to view well.Many of the best views of Ireland’s wild fauna are unfortunately at the side of the road where they have been killed by road traffic. Badgers, Foxes, Stoats, Hedgehogs, Rabbits and some rodents are the most common victims, but Hares, Otters and Deer are occasionally killed too. It is unlikely that the continued survival of any species could be thus threatened, but a lot of this unnecessary carnage could be avoided by more careful driving. Hibernation is used by some of Ireland’s animals, notably the Bats and Hedgehog, but also Frogs, Lizards and Newts. Animals in this state should not be disturbed as this renders them extremely vulnerable. Once awakened they may not be able to return rapidly to their torpid state and may die from shock. Bats are particularly vulnerable – it has been suggested that they use up most of their latent energy (stored as body fat) on being disturbed more than once. Stones in the garden may provide winter homes for Newts – often a fair distance from their summer ponds. If these stones are overturned to reveal their torpid troglodytes they should be carefully replaced. The presence of wild animals can be readily detected from ‘tell-tale’ signs using the senses – debris from feeding, footprints or other tracks in soft ground or snow, droppings of animal waste matter, scenting points and animals sounds all are useful indicators. Many of these are subtle and will go undetected unless the senses are alert. The musky smell of a Fox’s scenting post is highly recognisable to a ‘tuned’ nose but usually goes unnoticed even by country folk. Squirrels leave half-eaten cones at the bottom of conifer trees and Deer make clear-cut gnaw marks on their bark; once recognised, the marks made by Badgers foraging for worms are never forgotten, and the ‘sprainting’ mounds of Otters make a similar indelible impression. The ‘chittering’ sounds made by Otters can be heard a long way off while the weird howling and barking of mating Foxes is equally audible. One of the most far-carrying country sounds is the piercing whistle of the Sika stag during the rut. The animal has usually ‘hightailed’ it though, by the time the animal watcher has got to the spot from which the sound came. In contrast, the Pigmy shrew utters a succession of barely audible squeaks but it is an exasperating little animal for it can run around the observer’s feet in the grass and remain quite invisible. The most accomplished squeakers, though, are the Bats. Each has its own sonar/echo-location system, distinguishable (to the expert) by its frequency and pitch. Even normally silent Common frogs emit subdued croaking during the breeding season which is distinguishable from the nocturnal rattling of Natterjacks. Otters leave wide, slightly webbed footprints in soft mud which can easily be distinguished from those of Mink. Hares have large padded forefeet and long hindfeet which make recognisable prints in open ground; Rabbits’ prints are like scaled-down versions. The long claws on Badgers’ feet make clear marks in the ground at the sett or where the animals have been digging for food. Martens and Mink have disproportionately large paw marks, rounded and similar to a cat’s, but no claw marks show in cat prints since their claws are retractible. Dog prints are likewise distinguishable from those of the Fox, which show the impression of fine hairs. In the cases of the smaller rodents, the footprints are quite similar to one another. Size is the best distinguishing factor. The Pigmy shrew, the smallest of all, shows five toes in the prints of the forefeet – one toe more than those of the other small mammals. One should exercise care when identifying the footprints of larger mammals. Though Horse and Donkey prints are clear, those of other livestock like the Cow, Pig and Goat are not always obviously different from those of the Deer.
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Animals of Ireland, fully illustrated in colour.
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