- There are five types of deer in the New Forest: fallow, roe, red, sika and muntjac.
- All three species of British newt are found in the New Forest: smooth, palmate and great-crested.
- All three native species of snake are found in the New Forest: the adder (or viper – Britain’s only poisonous snake), the grass snake and the smooth snake.
- Rare plants such as the blue marsh gentian and the bog orchid grow in the New Forest’s mires.
- Around 700 species of wildflower are said to grow in the New Forest – nearly a third of the total found in Britain.
- Around 2,700 species of fungi grow in the New Forest.
- The New Forest is the only place in Britain where the wild gladiolus grows.
- There are four types of heather in the New Forest: true/common heather or ling, bell heather, the cross-leaved heath, and (the rarest) Dorset heath.
- The New Forest is home to the UK’s largest breeding population of the rare Dartford warbler.
- The New Forest is the most important place in Britain for the rare Southern Damselfly with 30 colonies.
- Thirteen of the 17 native species of British bat have been recorded in the New Forest.
- The New Forest cicada was discovered in 1812. It was thought to be extinct in 1941 but it was rediscovered in 1962. It is the only cicada found in Britain.
- Sand lizards were extinct in the New Forest in 1970, but they were successfully re-introduced in 1998.
- Beehives are placed in parts of the New Forest in summer because the gorse and heather provide nectar for bees.
Friday 30 April 2010
Why Bioblitz the New Forest National Park?
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