Skip to content

Scotland’s Terrestrial and Aquatic Mammals

3 May 2024
Farmland in Scotland has the potential to host some of Scotland's most threatened and important species. This is especially true for some of our most iconic mammal species, such as otter, hedgehog and red squirrel. This new FAS publication provides land managers a map showing where these iconic species can be found, so farmers can check the likelihood of them occurring on their farm. With 3 steps for each species on what can be done to attract these animals to your farm, and where funding is available to do this.

With 69% of Scotland being used for agriculture, farmland has a vital role to play in ensuring that our native mammals have sufficient connected habitat to reach stable populations and to adapt to environmental change.

Which species could you find on your farm, and what tips and funding options could you deploy to make your farm more accessible to them?

Background

Scotland hosts 49 wild native species of terrestrial mammals. Ranging from the red deer to the wildcat, these species are often the focal point when discussing Scotland’s biodiversity as well as its cultural identity. While mammals might not boast the diversity in species of other groups of animals (beetles having 2,600 species for example), they are often the main drivers of ecosystem health, through regulating vegetation, seed dispersal, predation of insects and other mammals, and introducing elements of disturbance. As such, mammals shape ecosystems, with their presence or absence impacting a range of other species.

As human society developed in Scotland, the impacts to our native mammals has varied from species to species. Where red deer dominate, wildcats have diminished. As such, some of our species have been awarded protection and recognition, to safeguard them against human activities and prevent them from being driven to extinction. They take prime place in the Scottish Biodiversity List - a list of animals, plants, fungi and habitats considered to be of principle importance for biodiversity in Scotland, including 22 species of terrestrial mammals.

With 69% of Scotland being used for agriculture, farmland has a vital role to play in ensuring that our native mammals have sufficient connected habitat to reach stable populations and to adapt to environmental change. Knowing which of these species you have on your farm can be tricky without knowing the field signs to look for. However, websites such as the NBN Scotland Atlas can play a massive role in informing landowners of the species found on their land and neighbouring areas. The Atlas provides open access biodiversity data in a user-friendly way, to display what species have been found all over Scotland.

Here we highlight some of the mammals from the Scottish Biodiversity List that you could find on your farm, and actions you can take to make your farm more accessible to these species.

Image credit: Peter Trimming at Flickr
Image credit: Peter Trimming at Flickr
Image credit: Caroline Legg at Flickr
Image credit: Caroline Legg at Flickr

Click to expand:

Harry Fisher, SAC Consulting

All map images taken from https://nbnatlas.org, accessed on 15 April 2024.

References

Related Resources

Rewilding | Helping farmers in Scotland (fas.scot)

Scotland’s National Priority Species | Helping farmers in Scotland (fas.scot)

Biodiversity On Your Farm | Helping farmers in Scotland (fas.scot)

Sign up to the FAS newsletter

Receive updates on news, events and publications from Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service