Fauna of Wales

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Part of a series on the
Biodiversity of Wales
Biota Flora Fauna List of birds
Conservation Special Areas of Conservation
Organisations Wildlife Trusts Gwent Wildlife Trust Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust North Wales Wildlife Trust Radnorshire Wildlife Trust Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales Brecknock Wildlife Trust (former)
Areas Local nature reserves National nature reserves Protected areas National parks AONBs Habitats of principal importance
Laws Wildlife law in England and Wales Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
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Part of a series on the
Wildlife of Great Britain
Fauna England Cornwall Isles of Scilly Scotland Highlands Outer Hebrides Wales Endemic Extinct
Invertebrates Insects Ants Aquatic heteropteran bugs Bees Beetles Butterflies Conopid flies Damselflies and dragonflies Hoverflies Mayflies Moths Orthoptera and allied insects Shield bugs Soldierflies and allies Wasps Molluscs Non-marine molluscs Crustaceans Crabs Woodlice
Vertebrates Amphibians Fish Mammals Reptiles Birds British avifauna Wales Non-natives North American landbirds Feral parakeets Bee-eaters Cranes
Flora Ferns and allies Conifers Dicotyledons (Superrosids Asteraceae Rosaceae) Monocotyledons British National Vegetation Classification
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Fauna of Wales includes marine and land animals, birds and reptiles that are resident, visitors or have been introduced to Wales.

Marine and river animals

Around Cardigan Bay and the Pembrokeshire coast, minke and pilot whales are common in the summer while fin and killer whales are rare.^{[citation needed]} Bottlenose dolphins are common and Risso’s dolphin and Atlantic white-sided dolphin are rare.^{[citation needed]} Whales and grey seals can be seen.^{[citation needed]} Herring, mackerel and hake are the more common of the country's marine fish, but basking sharks and sunfish can also be seen.^{[citation needed]}

River fish of note include char, eel, salmon, shad, sparling and Arctic char, whilst the gwyniad is unique to Wales, found in two locations, Bala Lake, with a conservation population in another lake in the same area.^[1]

Wales is known for its shellfish, including cockles, limpet, mussels and periwinkles.^[2][3]

Land mammals

The red deer, one of five native deer species, is the biggest non-marine mammal in Wales.^{[citation needed]} Fallow deer (Dama dama) are found in rural and semi-urban areas, and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are found in central and northern Wales; muntjac and sika deer can also be found. Other mammals include badgers, foxes (one of the most common mammals in Wales), hares, hedgehogs, otters, rabbits, stoats, weasels and red squirrels; pine martens are very rarely seen, but European polecat (Mustela putorius) can be found in both urban and country environments. Wales has 13 species of bat.^[2][4]

Feral goats can be found in Snowdonia.^[5] In March 2021, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) granted a licence to release up to six beavers in the Dyfi Valley, the first official beaver release in Wales.^[6]

Birds

About 430 species of birds have been found in Wales. Red kites (the national bird of Wales) and ospreys are some "signature species" of Wales. Dippers, choughs, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, short-eared owls, Manx shearwaters, whimbrel and plovers are also common.^[2] Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), a rare species in Britain, has several nesting places in Wales. Red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica), once a common species, has reduced in population dramatically^{[citation needed]} due to human hunting; they are found in the extreme north of Wales.

Reptiles

Adders, common lizards, notably around Oxwich Bay and grass snakes have been recorded.^[2] Some sand lizards bred by Herpetological Conservation Trust volunteers and Chester and Jersey Zoos have been released into the wild.^[7]

There are two populations of formerly extinct Aesculapian snake in Wales which derive from escapes. The older recorded of these is in the grounds and vicinity of the Welsh Mountain Zoo near Conwy in North Wales. This population has persisted and reproduced since at least the early 1970s,^[8] and in 2022 the population was estimated at 70 adults.^[9] In 2020, a population was confirmed as being present in Bridgend, Wales. This population has persisted for approximately 20 years.^[10]

Priority Species

References