MAMMALS 



It is unfortunately the case that until a few years ago the mammals 

 of Hertfordshire had received but little attention from local naturalists. 

 It seems that until recently no records whatever were kept of the occur- 

 rence of rare species or varieties, and it is now when all information that 

 can be collected is necessary for the compilation of a satisfactory list of 

 the mammals of the county that this neglect of former years is especially 

 felt. It will therefore be readily understood that with merely the records 

 and notes of the past few years at hand the following list is of necessity 

 very limited, and that the record of extinct species or of those which 

 are becoming so can scarcely be given. The chief sources from which 

 I have procured information are the Transactions of the Watford Natural 

 History Society and the Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History 

 Society ; I have also found some interesting records in Mr. Harting's 

 articles on British Mammals which have appeared from time to time in 

 the Zoologist. 



Of the several branches the Cheiroptera have received the least 

 amount of attention. Only four species of bats have up to the present 

 been identified, and it is reasonable to suppose that wken more time and 

 trouble have been given to them, several species which are found in 

 other counties will be added to the list. 



The distribution of the various mammals has by no means been 

 thoroughly worked out, so that in the case of some it is impossible 

 to say more than that they are to be found in the county, without 

 reference to the localities in which they most frequently occur. There 

 is little of special interest that can be said about the majority, as they are 

 common throughout the county, but to such animals as the badger (Meles 

 me/es), the polecat (Putorius putorius], the pine marten (Mustela martes], 

 and the otter (Lutra /utra), especial interest is attached owing to their 

 declining numbers and rare occurrence at the present day. Unfortunately 

 full notes only concerning the first-named are to hand, and for these I 

 have to thank Dr. Brett and Mr. T. Vaughan Roberts from whose 

 respective pens most interesting and valuable notes on this species have 

 appeared at intervals in the Trans, of the Hertfordshire Nat. Hist. Soc. At 

 the end of the list will be found the mention of two animals, the red deer 

 (Cervus elapbus) and the fallow deer (Ceruus dama), which appear in the 

 county at the present day only in a semi-domesticated state, and are not 

 actually feree naturae. These have been included, for I consider that they 

 are practically a link between the past and the present, since these animals 

 were no doubt at one time to be found in a wild state in Hertfordshire, as 



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