Wacky mammals
Mammals are a class of animal. They are warm-blooded and have fur and hair. They can also be a bit wacky! Here's our top examples of weird mammal behaviour!
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
The Week Junior Science+Nature
Get busy with these fun-filled nature focussed lab activities to help keep children exploring, learning, and creating!
Brown hare
The brown hare is known for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators.
Small skipper
Often found basking on tall grasses, or buzzing between stems, the small skipper is a small, orange butterfly. It prefers rough grassland, verges and woodland edges.
Small blue
The small blue's name is a little misleading: it is our smallest butterfly, but only shows a dusting of blue on brown wings. It is scarce, occurring on chalk grassland, mostly in southern…
Stoat
The stoat is a small mustelid, related to the weasel and otter. It has an orange body, black-tipped tail and distinctive bounding gait. Spot it on grassland, heaths and in woodlands across the UK…
Yellow wagtail
The yellow wagtail can be spotted running about, chasing insects on lowland damp marshes and meadows during summer. As its name suggests, it does wag its tail!
Heathland
Heathland is one of our most threatened wildlife habitats: they are wide, open spaces where gorse, bracken, heathers and grasses grow, and birch and pine trees are often dotted around.
Summer
For wildlife watchers summer is when insect life is most abundant. It is the best time to get to know moths, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and all our other amazing minibeasts!
Common cockchafer
This large, brown beetle can be seen swarming around streetlights in spring. They live underground as larvae for years and emerge as adults often in large numbers. Listen for their characteristic…
Hazel
Hazel is a small tree of woodlands, grasslands and gardens that is regularly coppiced - the practice of cutting the stems of a tree to allow new shoots to grow. It is well known for its long,…
Monkey-puzzle
The Monkey-puzzle tree is unmistakeable with its pyramidal shape, jutting branches and stiff, dark green 'spines' (its leaves). Widely planted in the UK's parks and gardens, it is…