CambsMammalSpot
7th May 2021
Cambridgeshire Mammal Group have started a major project (called ‘CambsMammalSpot’) to (better) record the wild mammals in Cambridgeshire – for the Group itself and for the Mammal Society. ‘CambsMammalSpot’ is half of an overarching exercise being undertaken jointly with the Wildlife Trust. The aim is to collect data on mammal signs and sightings to create a visual understanding of the population and diversity of the mammal species in the county, and particularly to determine their IUCN’s Red List status. There is a distinct shortage of records in Cambridgeshire – in where there are wild mammals, which species we have, and how many of them we have. In essence we (our Group, the Trust, local authorities and the residents of the county) cannot hope to conserve and enhance the environment for our wild mammals unless we know what we’ve got, where they are, and how many we’ve got.
The Group’s half of the overarching exercise will be using two apps — MammalMapper (https://www.mammal.org.uk/volunteering/mammal-mapper/) and iRecord (https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/) to receive records of wild mammals (alive and dead, native and non-native) however obtained – whether from sightings or signs or trail cams. Anyone can join in — both apps have training built-in — expertise in tracks and signs is not necessary! All the records will be shared, including with the Mammal Society and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Environmental Records Centre.
Signs of mammal activity such as this badger paw print are just as valuable as sightings of the animals themselves
There are more details on the Cambridgehsire Mammal Group’s website:
http://www.cambsmammalgroup.org.uk/