18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move

Summary

July is a month of movement and new life for London’s mammals. From red deer calves taking their first steps to fox cubs mock-fighting in sunlit gardens, the city’s wild residents are at their most visible. Hedgehog families forage together, badger cubs explore their sett paths, and leverets begin their solitary lives. Even the smallest mammals — shrews, voles, and mice — are multiplying fast, increasing the chances of a rare sighting.

🦊 Return on 18 July to discover the secret lives of London’s mammals — from the drama of deer rutting rings in Richmond Park to the quiet rustle of hedgehogs in Bushy Park. It’s a fleeting moment of abundance and activity, not to be missed.

Article

Mammals

By this time of year most of our mammals are either suckling their young or their young are beginning to become independent; some will even be leaving their parents and looking for new habitats. Consequently, many mammals can be seen this month, far more than at other times of year. With smaller mammals such as mice and bats breeding so rapidly, the sheer increase in numbers raises the possibility of sightings, although a proportion of these are those seen dead on our roads.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Swanscombe marshes are slightly outside London along the estuary, but have a surprisingly large list of small mammals recorded there. These include all three shrews i.e. common, water and pigmy; water, field and bank voles as well as wood and harvest mouse. One can only imagine what the edges of the Thames nearer London were like for mammals a century ago.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Deer

Thirty minutes after birth a red deer calf may already be on its feet. Once it can follow its mother she will then rejoin her all-female herd. At first, the calf suckles every few minutes, being guided by its mother’s bleats. She can also often be seen licking its ears. It may well go on to follow her for the next two years or more.

Fallow deer fawns are also now being born. In this case they have a summer coat which makes them for more difficult to spot. There is some faint mewing between the does and fawns, with the occasional bark from the doe. She also soon joins an all doe herd for more protection as there are no mixed herds in July. The antlers of the fallow deer bucks are now in full velvet.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Young roe fawns, which were born last month, like most young deer are also now following their mothers. For the first year they are the same foxy red as their mother, although they also have some white spots to help their camouflage. Totally white roe fawns are not uncommon. The males start their rut in the middle of the month, and their dog-like bark can be heard once more. When the bucks fight and when they chase the does in grassy circles, they create the so-called ‘rutting rings’. Richmond Park is a good place to see both red and fallow deer with roe deer being much more secretive.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Foxes

Vixens and their cubs are now spending much more time above ground. Many more places where they have been attempting to dig new holes can be seen. The strong, musky smell in such places is due to the vixen, as her cubs as yet have little or no scent. Because of this, hounds have even been known to jump over cubs whilst pursuing their mothers. The cubs are also starting to look a little more adult and are having mock fights in the play areas which were designated for them by their mother.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Badgers

Badger families are also digging holes. They are now at their most active and may often be observed all together near their sett. The entrance to the sett at this time is often camouflaged with vegetation. There may also be some mating this month and the cubs may even have started exploring the regular paths used by their parents. They are already feeding on bulbs, roots, grass, fungi, seeds and stripped bark. These expeditions may involve crossing country roads where, being so inexperienced, they occasionally meet their end.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Hedgehogs

This is the only month you are likely to see young hedgehogs with their mother, although some sows may still be giving birth. The young are usually seen in the open, feeding with their mother. Gilbert White observed that after a mere five or six days the spines on a young hedgehog had hardened enough to “inflict a wound”. Bushy Park is still a place where there is a chance of seeing a hedgehog family.

Rabbits and Hares

Spring born rabbits may already be giving birth to their own first litter this month. Other rabbits may even be on their third. With such a swelling of numbers and the long days, adults and young are now often seen feeding together. Many are killed by foxes, stoats, weasels and of course cars.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

Hares, which are usually so solitary and hidden, are also seen more this month. When they are three years old, they may reach over half a metre in length and have thirteen centimetre long black-tipped ears. At this point, they are sometimes seen entering fields through gates rather than pushing their way through hedges as rabbits do. Adult jills may already be looking after their second litter. Leverets start to run a mere twenty-four hours after they are born. They make a slight piping noise as they suckle compared with their parents who grunt and sneeze. When relaxing, hares pant and grind their teeth. If attacked, the whole family is known to scream. At this time of year the jill is also known to zig zag more whilst running as well as jumping higher. It is thought that she may be breaking her scent trail back to her form. Her young are already starting to exhibit their legendary anti-social behaviour and the lonely habits so typical of their parents. Some leverets already prefer to lie in their own tiny forms near their mother rather than use hers.

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image

18-July Midsummer Mammals: Life on the Move Section Image