Going Wild in Town – an Urban Mammal Survey

Mammals are one of the most elusive and difficult groups of animals to record. Often all we find are the tracks and signs (such as feeding remains and latrines) to give any clue that they are around. Since much of the UK's countryside is being developed, the mammals are losing their habitats, and are coming closer to towns and cities. Foxes are often seen roaming the streets of our towns, sometimes in broad daylight, and then there is the grey squirrel, happily at home in many people’s gardens! This gives us an opportunity to find out how well our mammals are doing………..in some cases without even leaving the comfort of our own homes.

The Urban Mammal Survey is part of a project, working in partnership with the Cheshire Mammal group and rECOrd (the local biological records office), to record the mammals of Cheshire, with a view to producing a mammal atlas of Cheshire. We are particularly keen to find out the numbers and spread of some of our best known mammals - the grey squirrel, the hedgehog, the red fox and the rabbit. According to the current database there are large areas of both rural and urban environments in Cheshire and Greater Manchester that have no rabbits and no grey squirrels!

• Badger Badgers are vulnerable and often misunderstood animals. You can help us to keep them safe by taking part in this survey. Any information will help, and will be kept confidential
• Fox Foxes are masters of urban living, and can be found everywhere! Listen for them in the spring and keep watch in your neighbourhood
• Hedgehog Hedgehogs are visitors to urban gardens, helping gardeners by feasting on pests
• Grey Squirrel Love them or hate them, Grey Squirrels are found wherever there are trees.
• Mole You will be very lucky to see a mole, but look out for molehills in gardens, parks or woodland
• Rabbit Rabbits are becoming more frequent in the area. Look for them wherever there are large areas of open grassland.

Cheshire Mammal Group is hoping to produce a book on the ‘Mammals of Cheshire’ for 2007 and for this we need as many mammal records as we can find. You may think they are everywhere, or you may never have noticed them at all, but until we begin to count them we cannot really be sure.

You can print out the form below to send in your mammal sightings or email us.

RECORDING FORM
Your name, address and telephone number

Your name: ...................................................................................

Address: .......................................................................................

......................................................................................................

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Postcode: .....................................................................................

Telephone number: .......................................................................

Have you seen:
Badger ( _ )
Fox ( _ )
Hedgehog ( _ )
Mole (hill) ( _ )
Rabbit ( _ )
Squirrel ( _ )
Where did you see them (please give OS grid ref if you know it, or a postcode):
......................................................................................................

Date Spotted: ..............................................................................

How many did you see?...............................................................

What else have you seen? ..........................................................

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There will be a prize draw on December 15 th 2006. All records submitted will go into the ‘hat' and the prize is a hedgehog box kindly donated by Biota. Send your records to Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Grebe House, Reaseheath, Nantwich, CW5 6DG