Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society

Mammal Report 1997 by Mervyn Greening

The number of records is up on last year, largely due to the activity of a few recorders. The number of species recorded is down because not a single house mouse has been reported in 1997, and no-one was fortunate enough to see the elusive water shrew. No dolphins were seen in 1997, and there has only been one record of a seal, which unfortunately was not described, so its identity could not be discerned.

The most notable events this year have involved otters, with unfortunately one being recorded as a road casualty, but another providing the first live sighting in Gloucestershire since 1985 and 1977 prior to that. There has been plenty of evidence of otter activity since 1990, but these are the first times that animals have been seen. The live sighting was in an unexpected situation, as the beast loped along in front of John Wells and myself whilst travelling between Newent and Ashleworth in September. The nearest river was a mile and a half away, but we later discovered the presence of a small stream nearby. There has been a lot of talk of otters on the Leaden for some time, but I still haven't found any spraints or prints at any of the bridges that I check.

The Forest of Dean dormice had another succesful year, with animals being seen at five of the sites and nests being found at the others. Dormice were found for the first time in nest boxes at another GWT reserve in the Cotswolds, which has added another dot to the map of dormouse distribution in Gloucestershire.

A strange coincidence happened concerning cats. In between writing last year's report and sending it to the editor, and the publication of the journal with the report, I received a record concerning a cat which the observer believed to be a feral cat. The animal being seen regularly, if not often, a long way from habitation, and behaving more like a wild animal than a domestic one. This record was closely followed by a second! Since then, there have been no other records.

I am a little concerned about hedgehogs, is it only me that is seeing less hogs, or is it generally true? I am not receiving many records and road casualty numbers are down on the roads I regularly travel. It would be good if members could make a concerted effort to record hedgehogs this year.

As usual I am greatly indebted to those who supply the records.

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