mammals

Checklists of Exmoor's Wildlife

In 1996 ENHS produced The Flora and Fauna of Exmoor National Park listing 8243 species which had been recorded. (Now out of print). Since then there have been a number of additions published annually in Exmoor Naturalist magazine. The following lists show what we have recorded so far and it is hoped there will be future updates.

Algae	Amphibians	Beetles
Birds	Bryophytes	Diptera
Fish	Fleas	Fungi
Hymenoptera	Lepidoptera	Lichens
Mammals	Maritime	Other Creatures
Plants	Reptiles	Spiders

Mammals
Hedgehog	Erinaceus europaeus	Fairly common. Visits gardens. Frequent road casualty.
Mole	Talpa europaea	A survey by ENHS members in 1995 revealed molehills at altitudes from near sea level (Dunster Beach) to around 1300 ft. (Top Porlock Hill) Common but a lack of records from central and SW Exmoor.
Common Shrew	Sorex araneus	Widespread but few records from SW Exmoor.
Pygmy Shrew	Sorex minutus	Recorded much less often than Common Shrew. All our records are from eastern half of Exmoor.
Water Shrew	Neomys fodiens	Widespread, but few records.
Greater Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus ferrumequinum	Rare, just a few known colonies
Lesser Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus hipposideros	A few colonies recorded
Whiskered Bat	Myotis mystacinus	Rare
Natterer's Bat	Myotis nattereri	Scarce
Bechstein's Bat	Myotis bechsteini	Rare
Daubenton's Bat	Myotis daubentoni	Also known as Water Bat. May be seen flying by day overûrivers.
Serotine	Eptesicus serotinus	Scarce
Noctule	Nyctalus noctula	Fairly common
Pipistrelle	Pipistrellus pipistrellus	The commonest bat species, frequently seen at dusk.
45 kHz Pipistrelle	Pipistrellus pipistrellus 45kHz	Status not known.
Nathusius' Pipistrelle	Pipistrellus nathusii	Rare
Barbastelle	Barbastella barbastellus	Scarce and local.
Brown Long-eared Bat	Plecotus auritus	Frequent
Grey Long-eared Bat	Plecotus austriacus	Very rare.
Rabbit	Oryctolagus cuniculus	Fair numbers again since being severely hit by myxamatosis in 1960s but this and other diseases are still around and numbers fluctuate.
Brown Hare	Lepus capensis	Has declined. Some have apparently been introduced by Hunts (?)
Red Squirrel	Sciurus vulgaris	Once common in Exmoor woodlands particularly conifer plantations but none seen since the hard winter of 1947. (This was before the Grey Squirrel arrived here.)
Grey Squirrel	Sciurus carolinensis	Became common on Exmoor after the Red Squirrel had succumbed to the hard winter of 1947. Few if any seen before that date.
Bank Vole	Clethrionomys glareolus	Common
Field Vole	Microtus agrestis	Common
Water Vole	Arvicola terrestris	Numbers declining.
Wood Mouse	Apodemus sylvaticus	In gardens, woods and hedgerows. Common.
Yellow-necked Mouse	Apodemus flavicollis	Believed to exist on Exmoor but we would appreciate any records.
Harvest Mouse	Micromys minutus	Numbers have declined due to modern farming methods.
Brown Rat	Rattus norvegicus	Numbers have increased.
House Mouse	Mus musculus	In and around buildings.
Common Dormouse	Muscardinus avellanarius	Probably under recorded but thought to have declined with hazel coppicing no longer being carried out near every village. However, results of surveys with dormouse boxes are encouraging.
Bottle-nosed Dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Occasional sightings offshore.
Common Dolphin	Delphinus delphis	Occasionally occurs offshore and dead specimens sometimes washed up on beaches.
Common Porpoise	Phocoena phocoena	Occasional sightings offshore.
Pilot Whale	Globicephala melaena	One off Lynmouth, 1984.
Fox	Vulpes vulpes	Both urban and rural foxes occur.
Stoat	Mustela erminea	Widespread.
Weasel	Mustela nivalis	Widespread but reported less often than stoat.
American Mink	Mustela vison	Numbers seem to have been reduced. Otterhounds changed to hunting mink.
Polecat-ferret	Mustela furo x putorius	Escapes have occurred.
Badger	Meles meles	Common. Visits gardens sometimes causing havoc by digging up lawns. Possible carrier of bovine TB and Government Controlled culls have taken place on Exmoor.
Otter	Lutra lutra	Became very rare but has made a comeback, however many fall victim to road accidents.
Grey Seal	Halichoerus grypus	Occasional sightings offshore and dead animals sometimes washed on to beaches.
Exmoor Pony	Equus sp.	Several small herds run on Exmoor and compete with deer and sheep for fodder, but all have owners and are fed in winter.
Red deer	Cervus elaphus	Minimum 3000 on Exmoor & Quantocks and several hundred further in area south of Exmoor towards Tiverton. (Langbein 1997) 75% of Exmoor population is concentrated in eastern areas particularly the wooded valleys of Exe, Haddeo and Barle, coastal woodlands near Porlock and around Horner Wood & Dunkery.
Sika Deer	Cervus nippon	Some escapes from Pixton Park near Dulverton were at one time in the Bray Valley but none are thought to have persisted.
Fallow Deer	Dama dama	Locally common in east Exmoor only on Brendon and Croydon Hills. Population estimate: 600.
Roe Deer	Capreolus capreolus	Established in many woods throughout Exmoor.
Muntjac	Muntiacus reevesi	A few reports from Malmsmead area.
Wild Goat	Capra domestic	In 1980s the Lynmouth & Lynton Council introduced Cheviot Goats in the Valley of Rocks. These were the only wild Cheviot herd in S. England and replaced feral goats of the Saanen breed introduced in 19th cent. Feral goats had been common here and in other parts of the Exmoor coast in previous centuries. (Information Board Valley of Rocks 1995)

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