The Royal Society of Biology has asked the British people to choose the mammal closest to their heart in a new survey. They are running the survey to raise awareness of threats to wildlife and to encourage people to help protect endangered species.
Some of the animals you can choose from are the water vole, the highland wildcat, the red squirrel, the fox and the hedgehog.
Professor David Macdonald, Director of Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation and Research Unit, said: ‘People act on what they care about so it’s not just fun to explore their preferences and preconceptions, it’s useful too.’ He added: ‘For a nation that widely encourages others to protect wildlife …let us practice what we preach by nurturing the wildlife in our own backyards.’
Britain is home to 101 species of mammal and some of them are under threat. The number of water voles has dropped dramatically. The hedgehog population has gone from 30 million to 1 million. Pure-bred wildcat numbers have dropped to 400.
Last year, the Royal Society ran a similar survey for insects. The bumblebee won.
You can vote at: rsb.org.uk/UKMammalPoll