National Mammal Week is organised by the Mammal Society and takes place at the end of October each year. This year it will be running from Friday 18 through to Sunday 27 October. The theme is:
MAMMALS MATTER
From tiny bats to prowling wildcats, all of Britain’s mammals matter. Very sadly the Mammal Society’s 2018 Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals found that 1 in 5 wild land mammals are at risk of extinction. From this review we created the UK’s first Red List, which features some of our most iconic species such as, wildcats, red squirrels, water voles, hedgehogs, and barbastelle bats. Each day of National Mammal Week we’ll be highlighting the plight of one of these at-risk species.
You can expect lots of fun-filled informative days with:
BLOGS
ACTIVITIES
COMPETITIONS
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
The schedule for the week is as follows:
BLOGS
Each day’s blog will go live at 8am!
Water voles – Saving Ratty by Merryl Gelling
Barbastelle bats – Flying bat, hidden roost by Kieran O’Malley
Seals – Seals in Sussex by Stephen Savage
Lesser white-toothed shrews – Shrewly awesome by Carl Knight
Wildcats – Touch not the cat [without] a glove by Roo Campbell
Hedgehogs – Hedgehog hotspots by Patrick Wright
Cetaceans – The ocean’s deepest secrets – my time with beaked whales by Frazer Coomber
Eurasian beavers – Building bridges (and dams) by Roisin Campbell-Palmer
Greater horseshoe bats – Did the bat cross the road? by Domhnall Finch
Dormice – Dreaming of dormice by Lorna Griffiths
COMPETITIONS
MAMMAL MAPPER
We have some great prizes up for grabs for new and current Mammal Mapper users!
Thanks to NHBS we have some cracking prizes for existing users! Win by being the person who submits the most surveys, or the furthest total distance in surveys. Prizes include: NHBS gift voucher, 1-year British Wildlife Magazine subscription, plush toys, mammal travel mug. What are you waiting for? Get outside for some fresh air and turn on the app!
Could you be our 2,500th Mammal Mapper user? Just download and use the app to find out! The lucky winner will receive a Mammal Society tote bag. Good luck!
WALK THIS WATER WAY
We’re also running a Walk This Water Way Competition!
This fantastic prize bundle could be yours if you take part in our Walk This Water Way survey! Simply complete at least one survey before midnight on the 24 October and you’ll be entered into the prize draw. For every survey you do, your name will be entered into the draw. So the more you survey, the more chance you have of winning! The winner will be announced on Friday 25 October. Click here for more information about Walk This Water Way and T&Cs for the competition.
Prize bundle contents: A Mammal Society tote bag, eco-friendly bamboo coffee cup, cuddly otter toy and Mammal Society water shrew handbook!
DESIGN A T-SHIRT
The competition is open to primary school age children and teens, with two age categories: 4 – 11 years and 12 – 18 years. The idea is to use the Red List species as inspiration to create a bright and eye-catching design for a new Mammal Society t-shirt. The two winners will see their design available on the Mammal Society’s Teemill store and will also receive a t-shirt with their very own design on! Designs must be received on white A4 paper by midnight on 10 November and the winners will be announced on 11 November (extended to allow artists to work on their designs during half term). So, get creative for conservation this National Mammal Week and remember, Mammals Matter! More information, T&Cs and entry forms can be found here.
SOUND ROUND
Each day of #MammalWeek we’ll be asking “Who made that sound?” in our Mammal #SoundRound, then revealing the answer at 8pm the same day. On some days, there will even be chances to win prizes! Just comment on the post on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram or email us the answer to info@themammalsociety.org
Sound 1:
It was a hedgehog! Congrats to anybody who guessed this correctly, it’s a tough one! And thanks to Hedgehog Friendly Town for supplying the video/sound.
Sound 2:
It was a muntjac deer! Caught on camera trap by Natalie Ward and Cannock Chase Wildlife project – thanks for the clip!
Sound 3:
Slightly easier today for those with cats, this one was a Wildcat! Thanks to RZSS for the clip.
Sound 4:
Another slightly easier one for Monday morning, this huffing and grunting was from a wild boar!
Sound 5:
No it wasn’t an alien, it was a greater horseshoe bat lowered to a frequency that humans can hear!
Everyone who answered any of 1-5 of #SoundRound correctly was entered into a prize draw… congrats to Marian Coburn who played along on Instagram – Hedgehog plush toy and hedgehog notepad coming your way! There are still sounds 6-10 to play for a chance to win!
Sound 6:
We were mean with this one, it was another muntjac deer! Thanks to Natalie Ward and Cannock Chase Wildlife project for the camera trap footage.
Sound 7:
Sounding more like a swarm of bees than a mammal, this was actually an edible dormouse!
Sound 8:
Sped up to 10x the original to make it easier to hear, this sound was made by a humpback whale!
Sound 9:
Wow, it was a fox! Thanks to Natalie Ward & Cannock Chase Wildlife Project for this amazing camera trap clip!
Sound 10:
Hopefully this was the easiest of the Sound Rounds – it was an otter that we filmed at the British Wildlife Centre!
Everyone who answered any of 6-10 of 
#SoundRound correctly was entered into a prize draw… congrats to Meg Buckland who played along on Instagram – Mammal Society vole tote bag is already in the post!
Special Offer!
To celebrate National Mammal Week, NHBS are offering a 10% discount on Mammal Society books until the end of October.
Titles include: Britain’s Mammals 2018; Live Trapping of Small Mammals; The Water Vole Mitigation Handbook and many others. To see the whole range and make an online purchase click here.
Things to look out for during National Mammal Week:
The launch of Mammal Photographer of the Year 2020
Opening of registrations for University Mammal Challenge 2020
