Ni animal life

My favourite examples of animal life in Northern Ireland 

Irish stoat

The Irish stoat, normally only found in Ireland as its name suggests they are a small species with a reddish-brown coat with a creamy throat and underside with a long tail that ends with black hairs. The average male grows about 35 cm from tail to nose and weigh about 150 g while the females are 27 cm from tail to nose and weigh 130 g on average. They are mostly solitary for most of their lives until mastering season in late spring and early summer when they have 3 to 10 kits that are blind, deaf and have a pale white coat for 12 weeks. They can be found in woodland, farmland, mountains or hedgerow, they are carnivores and kill prey up to 5 times their weight however they mostly hunt and feed on small mammals, birds and insects.

They recently had a decline in population due to a disease in the rabbit population which are the stoats main prey but recently the rabbits have become resistant to the disease and the food source is now available to them again, they are protected by “Appendix III of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats”.

Daubenton’s bat

A relatively common species dark brown on top and paler underneath with short rounded ears weighing about 9 g in summer and 15 g just before hibernation in winter with a body length of 45-50 mm and forearm of 35-40 mm long. They skim over the water’s surface with a fast wing beat making them fast and agile flyer. They prefer to forage over the surface of calm water, about 5 and 25 cm from surface  for insects just after sunset about 30 minutes after dusk, they normally roost in stone structures such as bridges and walls and occasionally roosting in houses, they hibernate between October and April. Mating season is normally October to February they give birth to a single pup they are are capable of flight after about 5 weeks. Water pollution is harming the population of these bats due to the nature of their diet supporting any river or lake cleaning projects can help the population of these creatures, they are also currently protected by:

Schedules 5, 6 and 7 of the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985. Annex IV of the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (Habitats and Species Directive). Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1979).Included under the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe (1991).

These guys are one of my favorites as they, in my mind, are so unique. The way they glide over the water fro insects is just so odd in my head yet it is so normal for bats also adding to this is that they are the first real exposure i ever had with a bat beyond a vampire.