Best mammal websites

1. The Fox Website
This accessible site is full of information about the animal most likely to dig through your rubbish. Split up into sensible categories, it covers ecology, populations and urban foxes among and manages to write about the controversial subject of fox hunting with admirable impartiality. Facts are presented in a question-answer format and there is plenty of extra reading in the sidebars and it's good to see that when fox-hunting is mentioned, the site offers links to both sides of the argument.

2. Save Our Squirrels
Although squirrels are sometimes described as rats with good PR, the red (British) variety is currently under threat from its foreign grey cousin. The Save Our Squirrels campaign is described as “the largest single-species conservation project taking place in the UK”. Find out why red squirrels are under threat and what you can do to help, not to mention why it’s legal to kill grey squirrels.

3. Wildlife Gardener
Wildlife Gardener is a no nonsense site that solves specific problems you may come across when encountering wildlife (or a lack of it) in your garden. Under the garden mammals section you can find the most appropriate way to deal with moles in your garden as well as how to recognise the tracks and trails of the mammals in your garden. It’s short and to-the-point, meaning you won’t waste hours skim-reading for the relevant paragraph.

4. Bat Conservation Trust
Batty about bats? These night-loving creatures make up a staggering 25 percent of mammal species in the UK and this site lets you discover the 17 types of bats native to the UK. Find out how to encourage bats to thrive in your garden and make a bat box for your new friends to live in. You can also learn about bat crime – and no, we’re not talking of the Gotham City variety.

5. British Wildlife Centre
The short-and-sweet descriptions of the animals at the British Wildlife Centre are actually very deceiving. Spanning around a page in length, you’ll learn all about the diet, nests and habitat of animals such as moles, red deer and wild cats. You can also adopt an animal for an affordable price, and there’s lots of information about the actual centre set in Surrey as well.

6. Garden Wildlife
An easy to navigate site that looks at wildlife gardening in general, and then considers hedgehogs, squirrels and bats too. There’s a useful blog, which you can use according to the current month to find out what you should be doing in your garden and you can find out where to site a bat box too. Some great background about wildlife gardening too.

7. Tales From the Wood
Enjoy the weekly findings of this badger enthusiast, which is another great grassroots site that shows you don’t need lots of money to end up with a decent website. Neat and easy to use, you can find out the dos and don’ts of badger watching in the useful guide section or just enjoy the entertaining regular blog posts.

8. Dorset Otter Group
This handy site is run by the Dorset Otter Group and it features lots of information about these rare animals. Check out the videos to see wild otters in Dorset, and if you’re going to be in the area, study the distribution map and stake a place at one of the likely spots. There’s a detailed otter rehabilitation guideline document available to download and you can even learn how to make a plaster cast of an otter footprint.

9. The British Deer Society
If deer are your thing, this website has good background information on each of the six types of wild deer found in the UK. The information tab is your best bet for finding out about deer and there’s a list of specific places where you can see them too. It’s a shame there’s no gallery though.

10. Tooth and Claw
This fascinating website is devoted to the predators of Britain and our attitudes towards them. Why do we classify some animals as good and others as bad? This website aims to discover why. Discover exactly how long ago brown bears and wolves roamed Britain and the catalyst behind their extinction in our country. There’s also a good forum and a brilliant gallery.

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