World Wildlife Day

Monday 3rd March

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Today, 3rd March, is World Wildlife Day. This is more than just a day to celebrate our planet's incredible beauty and diversity; it also reminds us of our shared responsibility to advocate for our protected species and spaces.

To celebrate, we wanted to highlight some of our protected species and tell you a little about them.

Reptiles

In the UK, we have six native species of reptile:

Adder (Vipera berus) - The UK’s only venomous snake.

Grass snake (Natrix helvetica) - A non-venomous snake commonly found near water.

A smooth snake (Coronella coronella) is a relatively rare non-venomous snake in the heathlands.

Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) - The most widespread lizard species in the UK.

Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is rare in heathland and coastal areas.

Slow-worm (Anguis fragilis) - A legless lizard that resembles a snake.

Threats to Reptiles include habitat destruction, fragmentation and pollution.

Other animals:

Otter (Lutra lutra)

Otters are carnivores throughout the UK, with the highest numbers in West Scotland and South West England. They hunt fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and some smaller waterbird species. Otters are large predators, growing up to 11kg in weight and 1.5m long.

Threats to Otter include water pollution and habitat destruction.

Badger (Meles meles)

Our Eurasian Badger is likely our most distinctive protected species, with its black-and-white striped face and stocky build. It can be found across Europe, and in the UK, our highest number of Badgers are in the south of England. Badgers are nocturnal and live in social groups called clans; these clans live within extensive burrowed systems known as Setts. They are omnivorous and eat earthworms, insects, fruits, and small vertebrates.

Threats to Badgers include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and hunting by humans.

Water vole (Arvicola amphibus)

Water Voles are small, semi-aquatic mammals native to the UK. They can be found in wetlands, ponds, and rivers. They feed on grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants and spend most of their time in or around their burrows. Unfortunately, the water vole is under threat due to predation from the invasive American mink, which was introduced in the UK during the 1920s for the fur farming trade.

Other threats to water voles include pollution, habitat fragmentation and destruction.

Bats

We have 18 protected species of bats in the UK. All of our bat species are nocturnal and insectivores. They also use echolocation to navigate and hunt for their food. Many bat species are migratory, moving between summer roosts for foraging and breeding and winter roosts for hibernating. Bats roost in trees, buildings, caves, and anywhere else warm and dry.

The main threats to bats include habitat destruction and fragmentation, human disturbance, and pollution.

Roman Snail (Helix pomatia)

The Roman snail is the largest terrestrial snail native to parts of Europe and is eaten in many countries. However, in the UK, it is now protected after a steep decline in its population. These snails hibernate during the winter and seal themselves in a protective mucus layer called an epiphragm.

Threats to Roman snails include intensive farming practices, insecticides, human pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation.

Written by Ellie Weir, Ecologist.

If you have any ecology questions regarding protected species in the UK that may impact any construction or site work you are planning, please get in touch with our team at info@maydencroft.co.uk

Pictured L to R: Otter, badger and Roman snail.

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