Collins New Naturalist Library
Mammals in the British Isles looks at the influences on their numbers and distribution, both now and in the past, examines aspects of their biology with emphasis on function and physiology, and concludes with an account of relationships with man.This book by Dr Harrison Matthews will be warmly welcomed by all those for whom his British Mammals, in this series, was a standard work for nearly 30 years. In recent years our understanding of the British species has expanded greatly. This volume offers a synthesis of modern knowledge derived from living animals studied in the field and covering all facets of mammalian life in the British Isles. It will be as important to a new generation of naturalists as the previous book was to an older one.The book is full of fascinating detail – of the shrews which scream in defence of territory to avoid fighting; of young rats that play to learn while adult otters play for fun; of vole 'plague' populations which crash as a result of stress; of monogamy and parental care of the dog fox – but it also paints a broader picture of interdependence, conservation and the part played by man.As much a part of nature as any other member of the fauna, it is man who has created the character of the environment – by clearing, draining, building and developing agriculture – and made available the wide variety of habitats occupied by indigenous, introduced and feral populations.Dr Harrison Matthews gives a general account of British mammals and the things influencing their numbers and distribution both now and in the past, examines aspects of their biology with emphasis on function and physiology, and concludes with an account of relationships with man and the measures he has taken for their control and conservation.
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William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2019
First published 1982
Copyright © L. Harrison Matthews 1982
L. Harrison Matthews asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Black and white reproduction by
Adroit Photo-Litho Ltd, Birmingham
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
Source ISBN 9780007417643
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2019 ISBN: 9780007406562
Version: 2019–02–26
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[Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780007406562]
EDITORS
Margaret Davies, C.B.E., M.A., Ph.D.
Kenneth Mellanby, C.B.E., Sc.D.
S.M. Walters, M.A., Ph.D.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EDITOR
Eric Hosking, F.R.P.S.
The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wild life of Britain by recapturing the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The Editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native fauna and flora. to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition in presenting the results of modern scientific research.
CONTENTS
1.The Mammals of the British Isles
3.The Evolution of the Environment
5.Ranges, Territories and Populations
7.Behaviour and the Environment
1.Hedgehog in nest; young hedgehog (G. Kinns)
2.Common shrew (G. Kinns), pygmy shrew (G. Kinns); lesser white-toothed shrew (D. Hosking)
3.Water shrew (G. Kinns); noctule bat (J.H.D. Hooper)
4.Roost of greater horseshoe bats in a cave (J.H.D. Hooper); the rare mouse-eared bat in flight (S.C. Bisserôt)
5.Water vole (D. Hosking); bank vole (G. Kinns); field vole’s nest (G. Kinns)
6.Yellow-necked mouse; wood mouse burrow; harvest mouse and summer nest (G. Kinns)
7.Common dormouse; edible or fat dormouse (G. Kinns)
8.Runway of common rat (G. Kinns); common rat feeding (G. Kinns); introduced coypu (L.M. Gosling)
9.Mountain hare (B. Tulloch); brown hare (G. Kinns)
10.Red squirrel (A.L. Goodson); grey squirrel in its den (F.W. Lane); litter of fir cones (G. Kinns)
11.Badger with old bedding; overlapping fox and badger territories (G. Kinns)
12.Country fox cubs (G. Kinns); town fox raiding a dustbin (D. Hosking)
13.A hunting weasel (G. Kinns); mink (F.W. Lane)
14.Tracks of an otter in snow (B. Tulloch); wild cat from the highlands of Scotland (G. Kinns)
15.Common seals on a sandbank in the Wash (R.W. Vaughan); grey seal (G. Kinns)
16.Two red stags; red deer-stag ‘roaring’; stag showing flehmen action (T. Clutton-Brock)
IT IS NOW over 30 years since Dr Matthews wrote his British Mammals, which was No. 21 in the New Naturalist series. The Editors then described it as ‘the most important book on British mammals that has ever been published, bringing together as it does an enormous number of facts into a new synthesis’. The reviewers and our public fully endorsed this opinion, and the book has been a continuing success ever since it was published. It is still the most useful volume in its field, and owners of copies will treasure them on their shelves, and make use of them in their studies, for many years to come.
British Mammals, when it was published, was topical and very up to date, bringing together the results of Dr Matthews’ own observations and the research of many other mammalogists. Since then the subject has made great progress, often stimulated by Dr Matthews’ own writings. As a result there was need for considerable addition to the original text, even though there was little that newer investigations had shown to require correction. British Mammals was already a long book, though every word of its text was interesting and worth reading. Further extensions and revisions would have produced a volume which, in today’s circumstances, would have been so expensive as to have been out of reach of many of those for whom it was intended – ‘the general reader interested in wildlife’.
It was for this reason that we persuaded Dr Matthews to produce an entirely new book. It is in no way a revision of the 1952 publication. Although considerably shorter than its predecessor, it covers all facets of the life of the mammals of the British Isles. Like others in this series, it is not a text book. Several admirable volumes of this nature are now available; this has made it possible to reduce the description of the species to a minimum. Once more the author has produced a synthesis of modern knowledge, which treats mammals as living creatures, living in and adapted to their environment. We are confident that it will meet a real need of today’s readers, and that it is a worthy successor to the author’s previous volume.
