A hedgehog in the medieval Recueil des Croniques d’Engleterre (1471-1483). A widespread folkloric belief of the early modern period, likely exacerbated by the European witch hunts, was that witches would transform into hedgehogs to steal milk from cows\u2019 udders<\/a>. This belief was so prevalent that a campaign to hunt and eradicate hedgehogs was backed by English parliament, with a bounty of a tuppence placed on the head of each hog<\/a>. <\/p>\n Though their public image has recovered in recent years<\/a>, hedgehogs are now classed as \u201cvulnerable\u201d to extinction in the UK<\/a>. Their key threats are linked with habitat loss and fragmentation<\/a>. Their natural prey, insects and invertebrates, are also in decline due to increased use of pesticides. <\/p>\n Declines in hedgehogs have been particularly steep in rural habitats, with populations reduced by 30\u201375% since 2000<\/a>. Conservation priorities<\/a> focus on restoring lost habitats for hedgehogs and understanding how best to protect them. <\/p>\n Adders<\/p>\n As the only venomous snake in the UK<\/a>, it is unsurprising that the adder would attract some negative publicity over the years. The species is increasingly a conservation concern and now locally extinct across much of England due to habitat loss<\/a>. <\/p>\n An \u201cadder\u2019s fork\u201d was a spell ingredient listed by the witches in Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth<\/a> (1606). He invoked them too in A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/a> (1600) as a way for one character to accuse another of treachery and deceit.<\/p>\n Snakes frequently appear in medieval manuscripts. Even more sinister, finding an adder on your doorstep was considered a death omen<\/a>. It is now unlikely for your threshold to be crossed by an adder, as they are now mostly found in small, isolated populations. Even they could be lost by 2032<\/a>.<\/p>\n Conservation efforts are focusing on the creation, restoration and management of suitable grassland, but are not currently widely implemented. Increasing public awareness and appreciation of the species is a key goal for adder preservation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wildcats<\/p>\n Once widespread across Britain, wildcats are now considered our most endangered animal species. They have a long reputation in Scottish folklore for being untameable, serving as the namesake of the Pictish province of Cataibh when it was formed in 800BC. They were often adopted as symbolic emblems or mascots in early clan lore due to their fierce fighting spirit. Their ominous cry is thought to have inspired ghost stories<\/a> across the ages.<\/p>\n Cats hunting mice in a 13th-century manuscript. Deforestation and persecution, especially by Victorian gamekeepers, eradicated wildcats<\/a> from England, Wales and much of Scotland. In 2019, experts concluded<\/a> that breeding with feral domestic cats has compromised their genetic integrity and that the remnant populations are too small, isolated and genetically degraded to have a long-term future. <\/p>\n But some hope does remain for the wildcat. Saving Wildcats<\/a>, a European partnership project dedicated to wildcat conservation, is leading efforts to breed the species in captivity. As of 2023, a number of wildcats have been into Scotland\u2019s Cairngorm National Park.<\/p>\n Mountain hares<\/p>\n The mountain hare is the UK\u2019s only native member of the hare and rabbit family. Once widespread across Britain, mountain hares are now confined to upland regions<\/a> of Scotland and the Peak District.<\/p>\n Dogs shown hunting a hare in an illustration from a medieval Bestiary manuscript. Hares have a long history of superstitious and folkloric attachments. They were seen as shape-shifters, or familiars of witches, which would bring doom and misfortune<\/a> to any person unfortunate enough to have their path crossed. Their shape-shifting abilities were referenced in The Mabinogion<\/a>, a collection of Welsh stories compiled in the 12th and 13th centuries, across Celtic folklore before. Numerous regional hare-witches<\/a> were referenced across England. <\/p>\n While fear of wronging a witch historically offered hares some protection, they have faced decline and range reduction from competition with brown hares, hunting pressures and land use change<\/a>. Recent surveys suggest a 70% crash<\/a> in the Peak District population over just seven years. Under current rates of decline, the mountain hare will become extinct from the region within five years<\/a>. <\/p>\n Nightjars<\/p>\n Summer visitors to the UK, nightjars<\/a> were once thought to drink milk from goats and in doing so poison them and cause their udders to wither away. These birds were also said to snatch up lost souls wandering between worlds with their unearthly call<\/a>.<\/p>\n A nightjar drinks from a goat\u2019s udder in an illustration from a medieval Bestiary manuscript. Nightjars suffered a catastrophic population decline in excess of 50% and range contraction of around 51% during the latter half of the 20th century<\/a>. However, surveys conducted in 1992 and 2004 saw welcome population increases of 50% and 36% respectively. Nightjar were recorded making use of new clear-felled and young conifer plantations and benefiting from long-term habitat management projects in their southern strongholds. Although recent recoveries offer hope, nightjars have reclaimed only a fraction of their former range \u2013 around 18%<\/a>.<\/p>\n These species, and far more besides, have been instrumental in the stories people have woven across time. So the next time you hear the screech of an owl outside your bedroom window or glimpse the wings of a bat flapping over your garden, pause to think about the omens of our wild country \u2013 and how their stories might yet continue.<\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251008-56-tbnev5.jpg\")
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\n Quirk Books<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251009-66-bduksr.png\")
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\n British Library Harley MS<\/p>\n![\"two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251009-56-qcid6y.jpg\")
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\n British Library, Royal 12 C XIX<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251009-66-q6gz5x.jpg\")
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\n The Medieval Bestiary<\/a><\/p>\n![\"illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/file-20251009-76-xxrngz.jpg\")
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\n The Medieval Bestiary<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760488694_920_file-20250110-15-rdfnbz.png\")
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