MAMMALS 



Turning now to the ungulates or hoofed mammals, passing reference 

 must be made to the famous herd of wild white cattle at Chartley. 

 These grand animals which numbered 29 head in March, 1901, by 

 April, 1903, were reduced to less than a dozen through tuberculous 

 disease. A fine young bull and three heifers have been separated from 

 the remainder of the herd in the hopes that they may thus escape con- 

 tagion. Should they unfortunately fail to do so there is every probability 

 that this historic herd may speedily become extinct. 



Of our three species of deer the red deer is now entirely a park 

 animal, although formerly common enough in the county, and even so 

 late as 1853 one was at large in Swythamly Woods, and in 1870 one 

 was killed there (vide North Staffs Field Club Report, 1894, p. 39). The 

 wild fallow deer which in Dickenson's time, 1798, were estimated at 

 more than 3,000, are now represented by a few scattered individuals 

 wandering amongst the oaks and hollies in the Needwood Forest estates 

 and on Cannock Chase ; but many are kept in semi-domestication in the 

 deer parks of the county. 



The beautiful little roe deer owes its inclusion in our list to the 

 discovery of its cast antlers in Needwood Forest by Sir Oswald Mosley, 

 where it undoubtedly lived when the wild boar whetted his curved tusks 

 on the trunks of the oaks, and possibly long after he was exterminated. 



CHEIROPTERA 





1 . Lesser Horseshoe Bat. Rhinolophus hippij- 



sideruS) Bechstein. 



This species is included by the late Mr. 

 Edwin Brown in his Fauna of Burton-on- 

 Trent, although his specimens came from 

 Derbyshire, where it is not uncommon. The 

 lesser horseshoe bat does not seem to have 

 occurred in Staffordshire of late years, but I 

 am still in hopes that further research in the 

 limestone district of north Stafford will result 

 in its discovery as a resident in the county. 



2. Long-eared Bat. Plecotus auritus, Linn. 

 Generally distributed throughout the county. 



It may be seen on the wing from March till 

 November, and is extremely active in turning 

 and wheeling in the air, as well as in rising 

 from the ground. 



3. Great Bat. Piphtrella noctu/a, Schreber. 



Bell Scotophilus noctula. 

 White Vespertirio altivolans. 



This grand bat justly named by Mr. 

 Trevor-Battye in honour of the great natura- 

 list who first described it as a British species, 

 White's bat is generally distributed in 

 Staffordshire, and may be observed in flight 

 from May till August or early September. It 

 is often seen abroad in the day and then flies 

 very high in the air, but I have frequently 



seen it skimming the meadows near Burton- 

 on-Trent late in the evening at an elevation 

 of 6 feet or less. At Trentham Park Mr. 

 Collins obtained thirty specimens from a 

 hollow ash in which they were hibernating. 1 

 These were exhibited alive at the Annual 

 Meeting of the North Staffordshire Field Club 

 held at Stoke on Thursday, 19 March, 1891, 

 Mr. Collins subsequently took ten specimens 

 out of a hollow Scotch fir in the same locality. 3 

 In captivity, for a bat, this species evinces 

 considerable intelligence. One that I kept 

 for several weeks became remarkably tame, 

 readily recognized my voice and distinguished 

 it from that of any other person. When 

 called it hurried towards me with a peculiar 

 movement of its long fore-arms as if it were 

 mounted on stilts, and having reached me 

 climbed about my person with every evidence 

 of satisfaction. 



4. Pipistrelle. Pipistre/lus plpistret/us, Schreber. 



Bell Scotophilus pipistrellus. 

 Common and generally distributed. Owing 

 to its partiality for house-roofs and churches 

 this is our most familiar bat. Its winter sleep 



1 North Staffordshire Naturalists' Field Club Report, 

 1891, p. 65. 



2 Ibid. 1894, p. 38. 



I6 3 



