Fact Friday: Donkey Ears

Thank you so much for your positive feedback to our first Fact Friday! This week's fact is in honour of Jackie, one of our wonderful supporters who inspired us with her lovely profile picture featuring our handsome donkey, Duke!

The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns called them the “Persons with long ears”, and he wasn’t wrong! Horses are famous for their long faces and while their appearances are similar, there’s no missing the difference between the long ears of a donkey in comparison to a horse. So, what is the reason for these lengthy auricles? (The visible part of ears outside of the head).

Can you see the big difference between Duke & Callum's ears?

Wild asses such as donkeys originally evolved in arid locations in Africa and Asia, and their bodies adapted to life in this environment! As you might expect, these large ears serve them superbly for hearing, and living in the desert this means they are able to hear other donkeys calling over the wide expanse of the area – particularly useful as unlike horses who tend to graze in herds; donkey herds spread out to graze due to the sparsity of grazing areas available across the dry desert land. A donkey is said to be able to hear another donkey’s call from as far as 60 miles (96.5km) away in the desert! This is also particularly useful when alerting each other about the presence of predators in the area who might be creeping up on them.

They can move their ears in different directions to pinpoint where a sound is coming from, and they are also able to use them to communicate how they are feeling, just like your dog might – what might both ears straight up and alert mean? Ears flat back?

What you may not know is that their ears are also perfectly adapted for helping them to keep cool as well, another nod towards their original desert home! The larger surface area helps to dissipate heat by releasing warmth from their body into the air by the presence of blood vessels across their ears.

Their ears are so sensitive, they can even hear your heart beating when you are near them. This keen hearing ability means that they can pick up on subtle messages that your body will give out to them without you even realising, such as being able to sense if you are agitated or nervous as your heart rate increases. So, remember this as you approach a donkey! Try to stay calm, be quiet and gentle and help them to feel your kind intentions towards them with their amazing senses, because you are literally sharing your heart with them.

So, next time you see Duke’s big floppy ears, remember, those ears are highly evolved for several purposes, and just two of the things that make him so very special!

Fact Friday: Sheep Vision

We thought it would be fun to introduce Fact Friday to you and teach you a few snippets about some of our amazing residents! We're constantly learning about the animals and would love to share some of our knowledge with you, and of course, if you’ve got a burning question, send it our way - maybe we can make yours our next Fact?

So, today’s Fact: Sheep have excellent peripheral VISION. Have you ever looked at one of our sheep friends and noticed their eyes at the sides of their heads? This gives them monocular vision and allows them to see around 270-320 degrees (to put that into some context, we can see around 155 degrees on average). In fact, they can see behind themselves without even turning their heads! That said, they do also have a small blind spot directly behind and in front of themselves, so do bear this in mind when approaching a sheep as you can easily spook them! Talk calmly to them as you approach to let them know you are there and try not to approach directly from behind them or straight in front - petting them on the head may also startle them if they don’t know what you’re doing. Take your time, be patient, gentle and respectful.

You may have also noticed that sheep eyes have rectangular pupils, and this also aids their peripheral range of vision, however this affects their depth perception too. You will often find that prey animals have these horizontal rectangular pupils aiding their awareness of their surroundings and predators creeping up on them, while predators tend to have circular pupils or vertical slits (have a look at your cat’s eyes!) that limit their peripheral vision but instead give them the ability to easily gauge distance and speed that their prey is travelling at.

Most prey animals, like our sheep, have monocular vision. Whereas predators tend to have binocular vision (next time you visit, look at the owls and where their eyes are compared to the sheep!)

Look at my horizontal pupils

Look at my binocular eyes

Oh, and here’s something for you to try at home. Keep your head down and roll your eyes up to the ceiling and see how long you can hold them like that. It doesn’t take long before it becomes uncomfortable for you, does it? Sheep can do this for very long periods of time! As sheep spend up to seven hours a day grazing, it’s important for them to be able to look up at the same time and be aware of their surroundings too - remember, they’re prey animals and they don’t want a predator creeping into that blind spot while they’re munching! Sheep can rotate their eyes upwards 50 degrees and comfortably hold them for long periods, unlike us.

We’ve just scratched the surface of sheep sight here and this is just one of their amazing senses. There’s so much more to these animals than you might think at first glance, and we hope you enjoy learning more about them, as we do all the time!

Wildlife Monitoring

Spring has officially sprung here at Brockswood, where we’re starting to see and hear more signs of wildlife such as garden bird songs in the early morning. Although all wildlife includes wild plants, animals, fungi and microbes, we thought we’d put together a quick factsheet of common mammals that are native to Britain. You can look out for these native species while spending time in nature, or even in your garden!

British Native Wildlife

European Badger (Meles meles)

European Badger

Average Lifespan: 14 years

UK Conservation Status: Protected under the Protection of Badger Act 1992.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern. European badgers have a wide distribution and a large population. Populations of badgers can be found in many protected areas.

Threats: Some populations have had habitat loss due to land being used for agriculture. Badgers have been persecuted as pests, culled or hunted due to their association with bovine tuberculosis, for this reason, they are now legally protected.

Diet: Omnivore. Insects, earthworms, small mammals, amphibians and grain. They may prey upon hedgehogs if other food sources are scarce.

Physiology: They can be identified by their small pointed head with black and white stripes along the head. The adult badger’s body size can be between 67-80cm and has short but strong limbs.

Habitat: Badgers create complex, neat burrows called setts in woodland areas, often near scrubs or hedges. These burrows usually have multiple entrances up to 20cm wide which may be identified by piles of leaves used for bedding.

Behaviour: Crepuscular, this means badgers are most active during dark hours at dawn and dusk. Badgers live in groups called a ‘clan’, however they forage for food individually during the night. They are less active during Winter when badgers might go into torpor which means their physiology changes in relation to their environment.

Fun Fact: Brockswood was named through the badgers featured on our gates, ‘Brock’ being another Old English word for badger, as well as the wooded areas towards the South of our site.

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European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

European Hedgehog

Average Lifespan: 3-4 years

UK Conservation Status: Classed as vulnerable to extinction in Great Britain. They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. They are a priority species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern. Common and abundant throughout its geographic range globally.

Threats: They have been known to have been killed in car accidents. Pesticides and chemicals used on plants cause them harm. During November, hedgehogs may use bonfires as nest sites before they are lit and may be harmed when the bonfire is in use.

Diet: Omnivore. Invertebrates (especially earthworms), bird eggs, bird nestlings, fruits and mushrooms.

Physiology: Hedgehogs have a body size of between 20-30cm. They can be identified by their creamy brown spines up to 3cm long, which are used to protect the small mammal against any predators.

Habitat: A hedgehog's habitat covers a large area due to how much they like to travel. They can be found in lowland grassland, open woodland and most commonly in gardens or parks. During winter, they create a nest of dry grass and leaves to hibernate in.

Behaviour: Nocturnal. Hedgehogs hibernate to survive the Winter. They tend to use the same nest for a few days before travelling overnight to a different location to nest in. Hedgehogs have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell and hearing used to hunt for prey during the night.

Fun Fact: Between 1997 to 2010, ‘the hedgehog family’ were used in adverts to promote road safety to young children. This is because of the number of hedgehogs that have been harmed in car accidents, and these animations taught children to follow the Green Cross Code when crossing a road.

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Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Red Squirrel

Average Lifespan: Up to 6 years in the wild

UK Conservation Status: Near threatened. Red squirrels as well as their dreys are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern but the species show a decreasing population trend. Wide global distribution.

Threats: Habitat loss. The main threat to red squirrels is being outcompeted by grey squirrels which were introduced from North America. Grey squirrels are larger and also carry parapox virus, this doesn’t affect grey squirrels but is pathogenic to red squirrels.

Diet: Omnivore. Tree seeds, buds, bark and roots. Fungi, bird eggs and bird nestlings.

Physiology: Red squirrels have white underparts, with fur that ranges from red to brown and to black. Identified by its small ear tufts and its long bushy tail used for balance while climbing trees. They have an average body size of between 18-25cm.

Habitat: Coniferous and deciduous woodland. Red squirrels usually build their nest, called a drey, in the fork of a tree.

Behaviour: Diurnal. Red squirrels are active during the day and spend most of their time in trees, often coming down to forage or bury food in the ground.

Fun Fact: Red squirrels don’t hibernate, but may rest around midday during Summer to avoid the heat and at other times to avoid bad weather.

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Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox

Average Lifespan: 3-4 years in the wild

UK Conservation Status: Common and widespread.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern. Abundant and widespread across the northern hemisphere.

Threats: Habitat loss. However, red foxes are highly adaptable to different environments so this is likely to have little impact on populations.

Diet: Opportunistic omnivore. Rabbits, rodents, birds, bird eggs, invertebrates and fruit.

Physiology: The red fox can be identified by its narrow muzzle, triangular ears and a long bushy tail. It has red/brown fur, with a darker fur patch on its muzzle, and white or pale underparts. They have a body size of between 55-90cm.

Habitat: Red foxes can occupy a wide variety of habitats. This can include woodland, farms, mountains and city centres. The burrow systems they live in are called earths.

Behaviour: Crepuscular and nocturnal. They can be identified by their high-pitched barks during the night when they are hunting alone.

Fun fact: Highly adaptable and can successfully occupy urban areas, red foxes are known to scavenge for food in refuse tips and bins in urban areas.

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Common Shrew (Sorex araneus)

Common Shrew by © Karol Zub

Average Lifespan: 1-2 years

UK Conservation Status: Very widespread. Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern. A widespread species across the UK, Europe and parts of Asia.

Threats: Habitat degradation which affects small populations. The common shrew can be harmed by pesticides and other chemicals.

Diet: Omnivore. Ground-dwelling invertebrates such as earthworms, woodlice, spiders and beetles. They also eat seeds.

Physiology: Common shrews are small mammals ranging between 5.5 and 9cm. They have an elongated snout with sensory bristles to search for food. Adults have dark brown fur on the back with red flanks and a cream coloured underside. Small eyes and ears.

Habitat: A variety of terrestrial environments that have a significant amount of ground cover, especially found in rough grassland.

Behaviour: Cathemeral (active during both day and night). Common shrews don’t hibernate but become more inactive during Winter.

Fun Fact: Common shrews need to eat at least every 2-3 hours to survive. Their body size decreases in Winter to conserve energy, losing around 10-20% of their body weight.

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Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

Wood Mouse

Average Lifespan: 1 year

UK Conservation Status: Commonly found.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Least concern. A common and widespread species commonly found living in buildings near people and can be considered a pest.

Threats: Chemical pollution may harm wood mice.

Diet: Fir cones, hazelnuts, seeds, cereal crops, insects and snails.

Physiology: Large eyes, ears and feet compared to a body size of 8-11cm. Its tail can grow up to 11.5cm. Grey fur with yellow-brown flanks and a white underpart.

Habitat: Woodland, forest edges, grassland, marshes, rocky areas and cultivated land. Wood mice are commonly found in buildings.

Behaviour: Very agile when moving across open ground or climbing up trees. Wood mice gather berries and seeds in Autumn and store these in burrows over the Winter period.

Fun Fact: Female wood mice can have up to six litters per year and up to eight young per litter!

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European Otter (Lutra lutra)

European Otter at the British Wildlife Centre

Average Lifespan: Up to 10 years

UK Conservation Status: Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. European otters are a priority species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework. They are classed as a European Protected Species under the European Habitats Directive.

IUCN Red List Assessment: Near threatened. Habitat loss, water pollution and poaching. Otters are extinct in Luxembourg, endangered in Italy and are rarely found in the East.

Threats: Harmful chemicals leach into rivers and lakes polluting the water. This affects the otters as they are very sensitive to pollution. The urbanisation of aquatic habitats such as creating canals or dams has a negative impact upon otter populations. Overfishing means there is less prey for European otters. Otter populations living along the coast are susceptible to oil spills. Human threats include road accidents as well as plastic fishery netting which traps otters.

Diet: Carnivore. Fish, water birds, crustaceans, rodents and molluscs.

Physiology: Brown fur on the body and white fur around the throat. European otters have full webbed feet, small ears and a tapering tail. Body size 55-90cm, tail 35-50cm.

Habitat: Rivers, lakes, estuaries and sheltered rocky coasts.

Behaviour: Nocturnal. Otters travel long distances at night, foraging for food in the water. They are mostly an aquatic species but build their nests on land which feature underground tunnels called holts.

Fun Fact: European otters appear silver when underwater due to bubbles of air trapped in the fur. They can also close their ears and nose when underwater while slowing their heart rate to conserve oxygen.

Why not have a go at wildlife monitoring?

These British mammals are some of the few wildlife species you could spot over the next few months of Spring.

Seek is an app that can identify organisms up to a species level, through your device’s camera! These recordings can be uploaded to the iNaturalist app, to show you all the species you have found as well as where you have found them. Other users on iNaturalist can then discuss and agree upon what species has been found, which means the observation could be accurate enough to be used by scientists!

Please Note: You must be 13 or over to create an account and must otherwise have your parent's or guardian's permission.

Monitoring wildlife including what species are present, the number of organisms, where populations are located, as well as how they interact with each other and their environment, is crucial in helping the conservation of different species.