Badger, Meles meles

Description: Badgers have distinctive black and white markings on their heads and white tipped ears. They have sharp claws for digging their burrows and are nocturnal.

Rarity: Badgers are common in the UK.

Where to look: Badgers live in burrows, they like dry undisturbed woodland with a plentiful supply of food. Only active after dark.

Life Cycle: Badgers can live for up to 15 years. Females will give birth to between 1 and 5 cubs in February of which 50-65% are expected to die before reaching adulthood.

Prey: Omnivore - Badgers primarily eat earthworms in addition to cereals, beetles, fruit, fungi, young rabbits, hedgehogs, and wasps' and bees' nests.

Predators: No natural predators in the UK, cars are the main cause of mortality.

Fox, Vulpes vulpes

Description: Foxes have a yellow-brown to red-brown coat, bushy tails and amber eyes. Their tails often have white tips.

Rarity: Foxes are very common in the UK.

Where to Look: Widespread, ranging across the entire park and commonly seen in the car park.

Life Cycle: Foxes live for up to eight years. Females give birth in burrows to a litter of cubs which take around 4-6 weeks to become active outside the burrow.

Prey: Carnivore - Foxes will hunt small mammals and birds.They will also scavenge any available food.

Predators: No predators in the UK. However, like badgers many are killed by cars.

Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus

Description: Rabbits usually have grayish fur and an orange nape. They have long large ears and prominent eyes. Tails are black on top and white on the underside.

Rarity: Rabbits are very common in the UK.

Where to Look: Rabbits like scrub edges and grasslands as their preferred habitat. They will have a system of burrows (a warren) which they live in and they will stay close to their homes when grazing, leading to areas of very short grass due to the constant grazing.

Life Cycle: Rabbits can live for 3-4 years. However only 25% of rabbits live for more than one year due to predation and disease. A female rabbit can have up to 20 young per year and rabbits can breed at just 4 months old.

Prey: Herbivore - Rabbits eat any green leaved plants that are at ground level.

Predators: Foxes, birds of prey and snakes to name but a few.

Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis

Description: Grey squirrels are grey-brown in colour and have large bushy tails. They are about 20cm long with the tail being an additional 20cm long.

Rarity: Grey Squirrels are common in England and Wales.

Where to Look: Mature woodland near Chapel Lane car park.

Life Cycle: Grey Squirrels can live up to 10 years. However most die before then due to starvation or accidents such as forest fires. Females can reproduce once they are a year old and will usually have 3 young per litter.

Prey: Herbivore - Will eat plants, nuts and scavenged food.

Predators: Very few natural predators in the UK.

Mole, Talpa europaea

Description: Small 15cm long rodent usually with black fur. Very rarely seen. however mole hills are a clear sign of their presence.

Rarity: Moles are common in the UK.

Where to Look: Very hard to find. Only evident by their mole hills, found on grasslands.

Life Cycle: Few live to three years old, most die around 1 year old due to predation.

Prey: Carnivore - Eats earthworms.

Predators: Owls. Mammals tend to find moles distasteful.

Water Vole, Arvicola terrestris

Description: Water Voles are small brown mammals with an approximate body length of 20cm and a 12cm long tail. The females are slightly smaller than this.

Rarity: Present in small numbers

Where to Look: Only live along the Borrowdyke.

Life Cycle: Water voles live for 12-18 months. Average approximately 5 young per litter and can produce 4 or 5 litters between March and August.

Prey: Herbivores - Water Voles eat grasses, sedges, willow shoots and other waterside plants.

Predators: Water Voles are hunted by herons, owls, pike or other larger mammals, snakes and birds.