Tubber Animal-Life |
|---|
| A fox has pointy ears,a black nose and legs, a red coat,and a white belly. The fox has a bushy tail called a brush.Female foxes are called vixens and a male is a dog fox. The babies are called cubs. Foxes eat chickens,lambs and other other animals. They live in dens. Their home is very dirty with animal bones on the ground. The fox goes out at night to hunt for food. An animal that does this is called a nocturnal animal. Foxes have very good senses of smell, sight and hearing. These senses help them in their hunting. | |
| James | |
 |
A pine marten is another animal common to this area. They look like cats with big bushy tails. The pine marten is a very dark brown with a creamy white patch at its throat. The baby pine marten is called a kit. Kits are born in April. The pine marten eats mostly rodents, rabbits and small birds in Winter and Spring. They also eat various berries when in season. Pine martens live in wooded or scrub areas in the Burren of Co. Clare. A pine marten is quite like a stoat except the stoat is much smaller. The pine marten has strong feet and claws to help it climb in the woods. Pine martens are very shy so they are not often seen. |
| Alan | |
| Feral goats have shaggy coats, beards and swept back horns. They are usually black or white or sometimes both. The male is a billy, the female is a nanny and the babies are called kids. Feral goats are goats that were once tame but now they are wild. Feral goats can live to a great age because they are careful animals. They hop from rock to rock which makes them hard to catch. The kids are born in February or March. A feral goat is a herbivore which means it eats grass and vegetation only. They are found in the mountaineous areas of the Burren and are also called mountain goats. Another interesting fact is that you can tell the age of the billy by counting the horn rings. |  |
| |
 |
A badger is grey in colour with a white head and black stripes over each eye. It also has a short tail. Badgers eat earthworms, nuts, grass and fruits. Its home is called a set and is much tidier than the fox. They collect straw to make their beds.The baby badgers are usually born in February. The mother has about three cubs. Badgers are omnivores which means they will eat both plants and meat. Badgers are a nocturnal animal which means they only come out at night to look for food. These animals are shy of humans but have powerful front claws for digging. |
| |
| The field mouse has big eyes and ears. The tail is about as long as the head and body put together. Field mice eat insects, snails, beetles, spiders, nuts, berries and conifer seeds that they find at night. It nestles in leaves and sometimes the soil if it is dry enough. The field mouse has a burrow under ground which is divided into rooms for food and so they can have their babies there. Three litters are born each year. They live in places such as fields, hedgerows and scrublands along the edge of forests. Field mice are also called wood mice. |  |
| |
 |
The hedgehog looks like a rat with spines on its back. It has a long snout to pick up scents of its prey. The hedgehog eats insects, worms, slugs, snails, frogs, fruit and baby birds. They can be found in forests and hedgerows. An interesting fact about hedgehogs is that they can sleep for up to twenty hours a day! Up to seven babies are born in nests of grass. These nests are well sheltered on the ground. The babies are born blind with soft spines on their backs. Each hedgehog has about sixteen thousand spines on its back. They use their strong spines to protect themselves when they roll into a ball. In Winter the hedgehog goes for a long sleep called hibernation until Spring. They hibernate under leaves or a tree stump. |
| Lorcan | |
| Red Squirrels are different to the grey squirrel as they have large tufts around the ears in Summer and a red coat. The red squirrel changes to a greyish colour in Winter and loses these tufts. Squirrels have a big bushy tail for balance. They live in wooded areas around Tubber. The red squirrel builds its drey or nest in trees well above ground level and on branches close to the trunk. Squirrels collect nuts in Autumn for the cold hard Winter. Squirrels do not really hibernate as they wake up often to have a snack on their store of nuts. Squirrels can have up to two litters in a year. |  |
| |
 |
 |
| James |
| The Irish Hare can also be seen in this area. They can be seen during the day searching for food but most foraging is done at night. The hare digs a burrow under ground with its large front paws. An irish hare has two long pointy ears and a very strong back. Hares have bigger feet and bodies than the smaller rabbit. The hares breed in Spring time. Hares are usually shy however in Spring the male hares fight. This is where the term "as mad as a March hare" comes from. |
| |
| The Slow Worm is a lizard with no legs. It is a snake found in the Burren. Many people think it was brought over from England.The slow worm uses its tongue to pick up scents in the air. The slow worm is a small brownish colour about half a metre long. |  |
| Alan | |
 |
The Stoat is about a foot long. It has a long thin tube like body with short legs and it weighs about half a pound. The stoat is the smallest of our flesh eating mammals and is often mistaken for a weasel. It eats rabbits,hares,pheasants,ducks,hens,mice and rats. It can tackle animals much larger than itself. You would often see it standing on a rock looking for its prey. It is dark in colour with a yellow under area. |
| Lorcan | |
| Otters are mammals. They are found near rivers mostly. Otters have long sharp teeth. They eat salmon and trout. Baby otters like to play games like wrestling. Otters tails are long and flexible and they have sharp claws and webbed feet to help them swim faster. Otters can close their ears while swimming. Female otters give birth to between one and five babies. The otter is grey and black in colour. There are otters found around the lakelands of Tubber. |  |
| Tadhg | |
