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Monthly Archives: October 2016

Beaver ballot: why we should give a dam

By Dr Alan Law, freshwater science researcher, University of Stirling. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) has recently been reintroduced on a trial basis to England and Scotland. Yet its future remains on a knife edge. Their new presence has … Continue reading »

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Otter magic

By Pete Cooper, postgraduate student at The University of Exeter. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. Why are otters so endearing? This may seem obvious, what with their ‘cute’ charismatic appeal, prevalence in our culture from Wind in the Willows to Tarka and resemblance to … Continue reading »

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The water vole: can we save ‘Ratty’?

By Merryl Gelling, post-doc researcher at WildCRU and Mammal Society Council member. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. There can be no denying that the water vole, although physically fairly small, has the biggest ‘cute’ factor of all our UK mammals.  At first glance they … Continue reading »

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Decorating the dolphin: why a marine mammal deserves the crown

Opinion piece by Billy Mills – Biology Week intern at the Royal Society of Biology. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. While helping create the UK Mammal Poll, I noticed that many people seem to be unaware of the diversity of mammals that live in … Continue reading »

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Securing the future of Scottish Wildcats

By Vicky Burns, Scottish Wildcat Action Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. Scottish wildcats are now critically endangered. Once a common sight throughout Britain, hunting, habitat loss and, more recently, introgressive hybridisation means there are now less than 300 left in the wild. The biggest … Continue reading »

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Favourite UK Mammal – the ones that got away

Opinion piece by Fiona Mathews, Chair of the Mammal Society, and associate professor in mammalian biology at the University of Exeter. The poll for the Favourite UK Mammal has a shortlist of just 10 species. Yet there are about 64 land mammals (including bats) in the UK, and another 37 marine species found in our … Continue reading »

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Science and policymaking: reflections from a global meeting

By Alessandro Allegra, doctoral candidate in science and technology studies, UCL Over the last two days of September 600 scientists, policymakers, and knowledge brokers from all over the world gathered in Brussels to discuss how to improve dialogue between science and policymaking. The global conference, organised by the European Commission and the International Network for Government … Continue reading »

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Return of the native: the pine marten

By Jenny MacPherson, pine marten project manager, The Vincent Wildlife Trust. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for yourFavourite UK Mammal. My first encounter with a pine marten in the wild was back when I was a first year zoology undergraduate. I was poised upwind of a badger sett with … Continue reading »

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Soprano pipistrelle: A love song in the key of 55kHz

By David Urry MRSB, science communicator at The Natural History Museum. Read blogs about the other mammals in the #UKMammalPoll and vote for your Favourite UK Mammal. The soprano pipistrelle, one of three pipistrelle species in the UK, is named due to the frequency of its echolocation: slightly higher than the closely related common pipistrelle. … Continue reading »

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Pollination and education in the Peaks

By Ida Griffiths – education officer for Pollinating the Peak at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Bumblebees are awesome! But perhaps, being the education officer for Pollinating the Peak – a new Heritage Lottery funded project from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust – I have to say that… However, it’s not just me, my colleagues and keen … Continue reading »

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