Fauna of Ireland - Mammals

Mammals

Only 26 land mammal species are native to Ireland, because it was isolated from the European mainland by rising sea levels after the Midlandian Ice Age. In the Ice Age (which include warm spells), mammals include the Woolly Mammoth, Wild Horse, Giant Deer, Brown Bear, Spotted Hyena, Arctic Lemming, Norway Lemming, Arctic Fox, European Beaver, Wolf, Eurasian Lynx, and Reindeer flourished or migrated depending on the degree of coldness.

Some species, such as the red fox, European hedgehog, stoat, otter, pygmy shrew, and badger are common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer, and pine marten are less common and generally seen only in certain national parks and nature reserves around the island. Some introduced species have become thoroughly naturalised, e.g. the European rabbit, gray squirrel, and brown rat. In addition, ten species of bat are found in Ireland.