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North Devon Wildlife

North Devon & Exmoor has a truly wonderful array of wildlife.

Buzzards, otters and deer, butterflies, orchids and primroses - plants and aminals of all shapes and sizes!

Exmoor National Park

Exmoor is famous for its Red Deer and Exmoor Ponies, but as well as these it is also home to:

• - 31 native mammals
• - 243 different species of bird
• - 100 species of nesting birds
• - 1000 types flowers and grasses
• - 1751 species of insects

 

But it isn't just the number of species that makes Exmoor's wildlife so special. There are many unusual habitats on Exmoor which have not been disturbed, where many rare plants and animals live. Some of the habitats are so unusual that they have been made Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The Exmoor Pony roams the moors where they have lived for longer than people have. They are also even rarer than the giant panda!

Exmoor is also unique as red deer have lived here since prehistoric times. It's amazing to think that half of all the red deer in England live on Exmoor!

Lundy Island

Lundy is a haven for wildlife and is England's only marine nature reserve which can boast the biggest seabird colony in the south of England!

There are about 35 different species of bird that breed on the Island from ravens to wrens. However, most people associate it with puffins, Lundy actually means 'Puffin Island' in Norse. Although the numbers have declined over the last half century or so, Lundy is still the only place in Devon where puffins breed. The best time to seek them out is May and June when they breed on the West Side of the Island.

The other good times to come bird watching on Lundy is during the spring and autumn migrations when thousands of birds use Lundy as a staging post in their mammoth journeys.

It is not only on land that the wildlife is so rich, in fact the wildlife beneath the waves actually exceeds that above. One single square metre of seabed supports up to 80 different types of animal. Many of these brightly coloured species are rarely found in British waters but off the east coast of Lundy they can be found in abundance.

Many divers visit Lundy to experience this underwater wonderland first hand. And its always worth keeping an eye out for the ever inquisitive seals who often come and watch you watching them. In the summer months they also get visited by basking sharks, sometimes in large numbers.

Lundy is home to only one native species of land mammal, the pygmy shrew. It is probably the most difficult of Lundy's mammals to see - it is in fact Britain's smallest mammal and only reaches a maximum length of 6cm.
Equally illusive are the sika deer which are a Japanese breed that were introduced to the Island in 1929.
The soay sheep are a very primitive breed of sheep. They are extremely hardy and have adapted very well to a semiwild existence on Lundy.
Wild goats were also introduced to the island. They can usually be found at the North End of the Island. Kids, usually twins, are born in January and February and are amazingly agile at a very young age.
There is also a small herd of Lundy Ponies on the island which originally came from a cross between a Welsh Mountain stallion and a New Forest mare but are now a recognised breed in their own right

More information can be found on the Lundy Island website.

AONB/UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Many parts of North Devon have been designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which encompass a fantastic habitat resource for wildlife.

This UNESCO World Biosphere accolade was awarded to North Devon in recognition of the world class environment that exists here. In particular Braunton Burrows and the Taw & Torridge estuary.

Johnny Kingdom

TV presenter Johnny Kingdom (born and bred in the area) has been a wonderful supporter and promoter of wildlife in North Devon and Exmoor. Tune into his TV series to learn even more about the stunning wildlife from the region!