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.

Brown Rat
Rattus norvegicus
Francach donn

By all accounts the ubiquitous and despised Brown rat is a relatively recent member of Ireland's fauna. Until about 250 years ago the rat of this country (itself a non-native species) was the Black rat (Rattus rattus). The latter appears to have been out-competed by the former to such an extent that it is now almost unknown in Ireland.

Brown rats are now so well established that they are found throughout the country – mainly in association with man. They are most common in and around granaries, sewage infrastructure, old warehouses and in rubbish dumps. They often occur in pest proportions and their reputation for being carriers of disease is completely justified (though not bubonic plague: that was carried by the flea on the Black rat). Efforts at eradication tend to be only partially successful and often depend on the destruction of their habitats. Brown rats breed throughout the year but mainly in the summer months. The loss of a litter merely means the production of another later in the year. Litters of up to a dozen offspring are commonplace.

They will consume cereals, fruit and offal with enthusiasm but can survive on pickings from rubbish tips and even on materials apparently devoid of food value, like chipboard. They will kill and eat small mammals (including their own young), and birds and their eggs are taken when found. They are well known for their aggressiveness on being cornered.

The Brown rat needs little description being, as the name states, brown or greyish brown with flesh-coloured and hairless feet, ears and tail. Adults are usually about 22.5 cm (9 inches) long but with a tail the same length again. Stories of “rats as big as cats” are exaggerated but on occasions particularly large examples have been noticed. A black or melanistic form of the Brown rat is well known in Ireland and is often mistakenly taken for Rattus rattus. The latter is, however, smaller, slimmer and has a proportionately longer tail. Nowadays it is found only occasionally at docks where it has come ashore from foreign ships.

Other Small Mammals from Animals of Ireland include:
Bank Vole |
Grey Squirrel |
Hedgehog |
House Mouse |
Pigmy Shrew |
Red Squirrel |
Wood Mouse |