Land /Water Wildlife 2024

Great topic for a thread - thank you @wiseowl … and very timely given this ..,,
In defence of slugs and moths: the pesky invertebrates Britain loves to hate

 

Over the years I've grown very fond of slugs, and the worst they get off me is a telling off, and transportation. The big ones are my very favourite. Here's Shirley, a prolific lothario - this wasn't his only dalliance I can tell you!

 

We often meet Shirley’s relatives honeymooning here in the dewy grass of an early morning in late summer @Mrs. B. Amazing creatures.

 

They are aren't they? I put lettuce out for them sometimes, I like to watch them eat it, lol! I put peas out for the little slugs to deter them from eating my flowers - they don't like melon, but snails do.

 

Common Lizards, Portland Bill, didn't see any Wall Lizards this time.

 

Snails are no respecters of great modern architecture … we’ve just had lunch here at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art ..,

Three quarters of the way up the glass, and still climbing, was a large garden snail …

 

Well, here's another Shirley photo for your enjoyment. All of them are Shirley, (after Big Daddy) and because after a while I lost track of who was who.

 

Is this the thread for general wildlife, in water, on land, including large mammals?

Someone with small cloven feet has walked across the mulch on my new bed, but it hasn't dug up the lawn or eaten the roses, which is unusual.

 

Probably a muntjac. My guess is they're after the tender, nutritious shoots and buds of various plants at this time of year, of which there is no shortage.

 

I'm in SW France @Erigeron. I haven't seen any muntjac here. We have roe deer and wild boar. I was just surprised that it hadn't eaten anything.

 

Small cloven hooves … young boar @Busy-Lizzie ?

 

Could be @Dovefromabove. In March the local French hunt shot 5, including a huge male. They had been devastating the farmer's fields behind me and they dug in my meadow. Though my meadow isn't important by comparison. I hope it wasn't an orphaned baby looking for Mum.

 

Worry not.
Probability is that even if a youngster, they are independent once about
8 weeks old and able to forage upon your plants!

 

Wall Lizard, Durlston Castle.