h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The University Project on British Mammals is, at last, almost complete at A14530312. We thought it would be a fantastic idea to ask if any photographers in the community had photos of any mammals with which we could illustrate the project, so I am.

There are nine individual Entries to be illustrated; seven of them are about each of the mammal families, one is an 'overview' Entry about the whole class, and the final one is a surveying Entry. The Overview entry at A10892126 has lists of all the species included in the series, but I thought it would be helpful to give you some idea of what we're looking for here as well.

Overview page A10892126 - ideally a classic British mammal; thinking foxes, badgers, otters, red deer. I'd really like this one to be something instantly recognisable.

Artiodactyls A16299417 - apart from wild boar, all the mammals in this group are deer. Muntjac and Chinese water deer have fairly small, localised populations, but any of the other species are fair game. Ho, ho.

Carnivores A13391129 - this family contains, well, all the carnivores; again, foxes, badgers, otters, as well as polecats, pine martens, stoats and weasels. Mink and ferrets are also mentioned in the Entry, but probably won't be suitable for the image as neither are truly wild, British species.

Cetaceans A17436170 - Eight species of whale are mentioned specifically in the Entry, but any of the thirty-odd that come into Briotish waters would be perfect.

Insectivores A13391192 - the obvious pictures would be of hedgehogs or moles; shrews are also included in the group.

Lagomorphs A16207652 - there are three species, the rabbit and two hares. Obviously wild animals would be preferred, but photos of pets would be considered if the surrounding environment appears 'natural'.

Pinnipeds A13391075 - the grey and common seals would be best for this one; the seals mentioned at the bottom of the Entry are very occasional visitors and so not suitable.

Rodents A13502396 - squirrels are the obvious subject in this group, but voles and pet mice or rats are also possible subjects. As with the lagomorphs, it's important that the photo is in a natural environment.

Surveying British Mammals A13502422 - could be trickier unless you do mammal surveying! Imaginative photos of survey materials would fit this Entry, though.

You can submit photos to the Yahoo group. In the Files section of the group, you'll find a folder called 'A Mammals Album' which is for photos for this project. Please include with any submissions the name of the species you have photographed if possible.

If you don't want to join the group, you can email photos to me at skankyrich[at]excite[dot]com. This is an old email address, however, so please let me know if you send anything to me directly as I don't check it unless I know there's something waiting. Include 'h2g2' in the subject line so I know it's genuine.

We'll be open for submissions for two weeks, until midday GMT on Monday 4 December - hope you can find something to contribute!

I've some deer pics that may be suitable. I'll post them at the yahoo group page when I can

I have a picture of a bat, I just don't know what it is. If the nose is as I see it it might be a horseshoe.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/42480199/

I think you're right; the only other it could be is a barbastelle, possibly. I'm not so hot on bats in the rest of Europe, though; you probably have species in Austria that we don't have here in the UK. If it is a bat that we have over here, the photo would certainly be suitable for considering for the Overview page if you'd like to submit it - the bats page, which is already in the EG, already has a blob.

Great photo, anyway!

thanks, if you also think it could be a horseshoe then I guess that's what it is. It's one of the most common here, I think.
Yea, I think I'll submit it.

If it's common, it's likely to be a lesser horseshoe and therefore suitable! Look forward to seeing it on the group, thanks very much

no problem

A slight correction, 'A Mammals Album' is in the 'Photo' section, not the 'Files' section.

Emmily

I have put a grey squirrel in the my album to be resized,then i thought, does it count,it is not native,only naturalized,like my sika deer?I have ruined the only pics i have of red squirrels,so I am off to Brownsea Island to get some more,any excuse will do for me to go there!As it is still very mild here there should still be plenty about.

I fear I named the picture wrong... hould have been bat01, I guess...

Grey squirrels most certainly do count, especially if photographed as well as you have done that one! Sika deer are also fine; both are very much part of the wild fauna here now.

Not that I'd try to discourage you from taking a special trip to get photos of reds, of course - it's wonderful that you'd even consider doing that

Sorry, Tav - no, the naming is fine

ok

Are you hiding out somewhere to snap some mammals?

Actually yes. I'm getting up early to try and get a photo of 'Charlie' the Roe deer that usually hangs out in my garden. Typically though, since signing up to H2G2 photographers he's decided to wander off elsewhere. Pity you weren't doing an entry on wild birds. I can give you pheasant photos no problem, I feed them corn every morning.

Well, keep hold of them! That may be coming up sooner than you might think



Currently, there are no submissions for lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) or insectivores (hedgehogs, shrews and moles), so please dig deep through your photos just in case! Of course, photographs are still more than welcome for all the other Entries too

Oh, and good luck snapping Charlie, Radox