Common otters -Lutra lutra- this beautifull animal has dropped in numbers over recent years all over Scotland and has gone completely from some of it's old habitat and appart from the north west it is now thinly spread elsewhere. Little is known about the behavior of the Otter as it is a very shy animal, it has a wide range of prey from fish to small mammals and from crabs to frogs. Otter's can reproduce once at any time during the year, the Father does not usualy stick around but there are exeptions to this rule.

Red Squirrel -Sciurus vulgaris- Found all over the mainland except in the central belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Introduced American grey has overtaken this habitat, because of this foreign invader and the destruction of forests the Red has been through difficult times, at the moment ways are being sought to stem the population of Greys without harming them, including introducing contraceptives aiming to stop the overall abillity to repuduce therefore eventually leaving the central belt open for re-habitation by the indigenous animal and to stop anymore loss of territory .

red deer stag -Cervus elaphus- One of the most recogniseable and potent symbols of Scotland the Red deer stag, usually a forest animal it has adapted well to their loss and now thrives in great numbers over bare hills and in the remaining forests, to stop their numbers growing to unsustainable numbers there is a cull once a year where up to 30 thousand of more are shot. They live seperately throught the year in same sex groups until the rutting season heralded by wild roaring begins in september/october, most calves are born in june. They are the largest land mammal left in the british Isles.

Pine Marten -Martes martes- deforestation, Intensive game keeping and hunting (their pelts were once a valuable export) brought the Pine Marten to the edge of extinction but fortunately it was able to find refuge in some rocky enclaves and is on the increase again, it is now moving slowly but surely back in to the places it's forbears once dwelt and given time it may well become a common sight in all of Scotlands forests. Martens usually have several dens found in hollow trees or craggs but can sometimes be found in more unusual paces like old eagles nest's or by the river bank.

Wildcat -Felis catus- went through similar problems to the Marten and several other species where destruction of forrest habitat and aggressive game preservation took their toll leaving the wildcats only in the west highlands. I feel that I should point out that Wildcat is a species and not a domestic cat gone wild as some people are inclined to beleive, domestic cat's do not have the abillity to become trully wild. The prey of the Wildcat are small animals like mice and voles but sometimes they will kill rabbits, hares and larger animals will sometimes kill roe deer fawns and even does. The wildcat usually has one litter of 3 kittens every year although 2 litters is not unheard of.

Stoat -Mustella erminea- the stoat is found on the larger Scottish islands except the outer isles and small islands and inhabits most areas from sea-level to mountain-tops, it has a varied diet including rabbit( until the 'Myxomatosis' outbreak) and voles, the coat is brown with a white belly in the summer and white in the winter. The male or dog stoat's territory can be up to 20 hectares and is sometimes shared amicably it seems with the larger weasel. Practically the only predator of the stoat is man who consider it to be vermin.

Fox -Vulpes vulpes- The fox is hunted all over the country by farmers and gamekeepers. It is the most hunted of all animals in the country, however unlike some of the previous animals it has not had much of an impact in it's overall numbers, as a matter of fact the Fox just adapt's, it now lives in the cities and is prospering there as well as everywhere else, sheep farmers and the like claim that foxes kill the lambs in spring but as yet no evidence has been found to support this claim, others like game keepers however are however affected if their birds are not well protected. At the moment the plight of both Fox hunters and animal rights activists are getting a great deal of media attention on this issue.

pygmy shrew -Sorex minutus- Is the most common type of shrew in Scotland and is found most parts the mainland, and on almost all of the Islands with the exception of Shetland, St.Kilda and north Rona. They spend all of their lives eating and sleeping in between eating, ageing happens quickly because of the high pressures they live in and they can't live more than a few hours without food, Shrews eat insects, snails and other small prey and are preyed on by Eagles other predators such as foxes, Martens, Stoats and weasels also prey on shrews but rarely eat them after doing so.

Badger -Meles meles- Is a member of the weasel familly or 'Mustelids' but look nothing like weasels as you can see, they prefer to live in woods or in agricultural areas that are not prone to flooding, they can be found living up to 450 meters above sea level, their diet can include anything from worms to rabbits or insect grubs and frogs. It also eats vegetation like nut's bulbs berries and fallen fruit. This shy and quiet animal probably has as many enemies in agriculture as the fox or other preditors without just cause.