The Hedgehog, _Erinaceus Europæus_, common everywhere, hibernates in a nest of leaves. The Mole, _Talpa Europæa_; abundant, pied and light coloured varieties plentiful. The Common Shrew, _Sorex vulgaris_, often, found dead on pathways. The Water Shrew, _S. fodiens_, is more rare, but has been found near Tamworth, at Great Barr, and in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The Lesser Shrew, _S. pygmæus_, is omitted, as it is now generally considered to be but a variety of _S. fodiens_.
The Badger or Brock, _Meles taxus_, whilst rare, is very equally distributed over the district. On April 14th, 1877, one was obtained in the Foxhole Hill, in Bentley Big wood, near Atherstone; a female and three young ones were taken alive in the spring of 1884, in a wood, near Croxall; there are some more badgers in the same wood this year, 1886. In March, 1885, a single one was captured at Bentley, near Redditch; the keeper at Beaudesert reports that they are still plentiful on Cannock Chase. The Otter, _Lutra vulgaris_, like the Badger, though rare, still frequently occurs in the Midlands, especially on the rivers Anker, Tame, and Trent, and their tributaries; as well as the Warwickshire Avon. On the Tame, a few years since, a female Otter and brood of young ones was seen several times swimming near an osier bed in the Cliff meadows; another was shot when crossing the river at the back of Broad Island, near Tamworth; two young ones were killed in a hay field, close by Hopwas Wood; and a large Otter was found in a brook at Wigginton, a mile from the river, and destroyed after a desperate encounter; still another was seen trotting along the banks of the Tame, close by the town of Tamworth; while the largest Otter known to have been taken in the river Avon was captured on the first of June, 1886, at its junction with the river Arrow; it weighed 28lbs. The Weasel, _Mustela vulgaris_, and the Stoat, _M. erminea_, are both plentiful. The Polecat or Fitchet, _M. putorius_, is becoming decidedly rare, only three having been recorded in the district during the last few years; the first of these occurred at Alvecote Wood, the second at Hints, in the neighbourhood of Tamworth, and the third at Merivale, near Atherstone. The Pine Marten, _Martes abietum_, although believed now to be absolutely extinct in the Midlands, used to be found in Needwood Forest, and a specimen taken many years ago near Rugeley is now in the possession of Mr. R. W. Chase. The Fox, _Vulpes vulgaris_, being strictly preserved, is sufficiently abundant.