Irish Mammals
The Red deer is the largest Irish land mammal.
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Fallow deer were introduced by the Normans.
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Japanese Sika deer were introduced to
Powercourt Estate, in County Wicklow, in the 19th century.
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The Irish for Pine marten is ‘Cait Crann’.
This means ‘Tree Cat’.
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This is an Otter
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The American mink was introduced to Ireland in the 1940s.
It was to be farmed for its fur.
Escapees from the early 1960s onwards
resulted in wild mink.
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A Badger is a nocturnal animal.
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This is an Irish stoat.
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A Red Fox is a carnivore.
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A Rabbit is a herbivore.
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Can you see how an Irish hare is different
from a rabbit?
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The Pygmy shrew and the Pipistrelle bat
are the smallest Irish mammals.
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Did you know that Hedgehogs are excellent climbers?
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Here is the Grey squirrel. Approximately five pairs were brought to Ireland in 1911. They were given as a wedding present. They escaped and went to live in the wild.
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Here is a Red squirrel.
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The Bank vole came to Ireland from Germany,
in soil from earth moving equipment that was
used to build a dam at Ardnacrusha in 1925.
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There are many kinds of bats in Ireland.
This is the smallest: the Pipistrelle.
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Other wild Irish mammals include, the House Mouse, the Wood Mouse, the Brown Rat and the Feral Goat. You can find out more about them on this link to Wicklow Mountains National Park.ie
What a lovely posting. I am very jealous that you have such beautiful animals on your island.
All the animals above appear in books I read as a child, but almost none exist in South Africa, where we live.
We were inspired to write a similar blog post, inspired by your one: http://m9-12.blogspot.com/2014/01/south-africas-big-5.html
Miss Tyler-Smith
Cape Town, South Africa
Dear Miss Tyler-Smith and Class,
Thank you for your kind words. We are glad that you liked our post. Our Irish mammals are on a small scale compared to The Big Five. They are also perhaps safer. We are honoured that our post inspired you to write your post.
We were fortunate to have a student teacher from Zimbabwe a number of years ago, who taught many of us about The Big Five.
You may be jealous of our cute native mammals but we are envious of your magnificent and dramatic ones.
With every good wish,
Merry Beau and Students.