Dartmoor and the fact that a great deal of it is undisturbed for much of the year is an encouragement to the wildlife. High Willhays, the highest point on Dartmoor and southern England at 621 m (2037 ft) above sea level, with Yes Tor beyond. ...

The more common mammals include: the Dartmoor pony, rabbits, foxes, Eurasian Badger, badger, grey squirrels, weasels, ,stoats, hares and deer. Rumours abound of large wild cats such as cougars roaming wild on the moor, but little evidence has been forthcoming and until anything more substantial is available these reports should be filed under the general heading of cryptozoology. For other uses, see Cougar (disambiguation). ... Cryptozoology is the search for animals that are rumored to exist, but for which conclusive proof is missing. ...

Herds of cattle and domestic sheep can be seen apparently roaming free on the moor. All are owned by farmers and let out to graze. Each is branded - the sheep with a coloured patch on its coat, unique to its owner. The livestock will naturally remain within the territory in which they are released, although walls and cattle grids (a pit in the road covered with metal bars - impassable to hoofed animals) provide an additional level of control. Cattle grid in remote Western Australia. ...

Dartmoor has given its name to two breeds of sheep - Whiteface Dartmoor and Greyface Dartmoor - which are descended from breeds which have roamed on the moor since at least the 17th century. They are still to be found there, but are now vastly outnumbered by the Scottish Blackface. Less common species such as Exmoor Horn and Cheviot are also to be found on Dartmoor. The most common cattle are the Galloway and Aberdeen Angus. The Whiteface Dartmoor and the Greyface Dartmoor are descendants of sheep that grazed on the exposed uplands of Dartmoor, in the south west of the United Kingdom, in the 17th and 18th centuries. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Scottish Blackface is the most common breed of sheep in the United Kingdom. ... The Exmoor Horn is a white faced, horned breed of sheep. ... The Cheviot is a breed of white faced sheep which gets its name from a range of hills in the Scottish Borders. ... The Galloway is one of the worlds longest established breeds of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated. ... Angus calf with its mother Aberdeen-Angus is the original name of the breed as developed in Scotland, and the term is still in use as such in the United Kingdom. ...

Reptiles include: Grass Snakes, adders, slow worms and Common Lizards. Binomial name Natrix natrix Linnaeus, 1758 The Grass Snake, sometimes called the Ringed Snake or Water Snake (Natrix natrix) is a European non-venomous snake. ... Binomial name Vipera berus Linnaeus, 1758 The Crossed Viper, also known as the Common Viper and the European Adder (Vipera berus) lives farther north than any other snake and is known for being remarkably resistant to low temperatures. ... Binomial Name Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 The Slow Worm (or Slowworm, also known as Blindworm or Blind Worm)(Anguis fragilsi) is a limbless reptile. ... Binomial name Lacerta vivipara Von Jacquin, 1787 The Common Lizard (Lacerta vivipara) is a lizard. ...

Amphibians include: Common frog; Common toad Binomial name Rana temporaria Linnaeus, 1758 The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans. ... Binomial name Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common toad or European toad Bufo bufo is widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Ireland and some Mediterranean islands. ...

With its range of high grassy moorland, bogs, farmland and deep wooded valleys, Dartmoor also provides a range of habitats for a variety of birds, some quite rare. With their preferred habitat these include:

• Buzzard (trees and hedgerows)
• Coal tit (pine plantations)
• Cormorant (reservoirs)
• Crossbill (pine plantations)
• Curlew (valley bogs)
• Dipper (rivers and streams)
• Dunlin (bogs)
• Goldcrest (pine plantations)
• Golden Plover (bogs)
• Goosander (rivers and streams)
• Grasshopper Warbler (farmland)
• Grey Heron (rivers and streams)
• House martin (farm buildings)
• Meadow pipit (upland heathland)
• Nightjar (pine plantations)
• Owl (farm buildings)
• Peregrine falcon (tors and rocky outcrops)
• Pied flycatcher (woodland)
• Raven (tors and rocky outcrops)
• Redstart (woodland)
• Reed bunting (farmland)
• Ring ouzel (tors and rocky outcrops)
• Siskin (pine plantations)
• Skylark (upland heathland)
• Snipe (farmland and valley bogs)
• Song thrush (hedgerows and dry stone walls)
• Stonechat (upland heathland)
• Swallow (farm buildings)
• Wheatear (grass moorland, tors and rocky outcrops)
• Whinchat (grass moorland)
• Whitethroat (grass moorland)
• Wild duck (reservoirs)
• Wood warbler (woodland)
• Yellowhammer (grass moorland)

Many of the rivers and streams support the fish species commonly to be found in Britain and Ireland; salmon and trout are also to be found in some, though less frequently than in previous times. Binomial name Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a bird of prey from the Old World. ... Binomial name Parus ater Linnaeus, 1758 The Coal Tit, Parus ater is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. ... Binomial name Phalacrocorax carbo Linnaeus, 1758 The Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. ... Binomial name Loxia curvirostra Linnaeus, 1758 The Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. ... Binomial name Numenius arquata (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eurasian Curlew, or in Europe just Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. ... Binomial name Cinclus cinclus (Linnaeus, 1758) The White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe and the Middle East, also known as the European Dipper or just Dipper. ... Binomial name Calidris alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader. ... Binomial name Regulus regulus (Linnaeus, 1758) This article is about the bird. ... Binomial name Pluvialis apricaria (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, is a largish plover. ... Binomial name Mergus merganser Linnaeus, 1758 Common Merganser range The Common Merganser, (Goosander in Europe), Mergus merganser, is a large sized duck, which is distributed over Europe, North Asia and North America. ... Binomial name Locustella naevia (Boddaert,, 1783) The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. ... Binomial name Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. ... Binomial name Delichon urbica (Linnaeus, 1758) The House Martin (Delichon urbica) is a migratory passerine of the family Hiruninidae. ... Binomial name Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus, 1758) The Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and Asia. ... Binomial name Caprimulgus europaeus Linnaeus, 1758 The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia. ... Families Strigidae Tytonidae Ogygoptyngidae (fossil) Palaeoglaucidae (fossil) Protostrigidae (fossil) Sophiornithidae (fossil) Synonyms Strigidae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist Owls are a group of birds of prey. ... Binomial name Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771 Global range (shaded green, dark dots on islands) The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), occasionally known in North America as the Duck Hawk, is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow: 380-530 millimetres (15-21 in) long. ... Hawks Tor, on Bodmin Moor Tor redirects here. ... Binomial name Ficedula hypoleuca (Pallas, 1764) The Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. ... Binomial name Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 Common Raven range Subspecies The Common Raven (Corvus corax), also known as the Northern Raven, is a large all-black passerine bird in the crow family, with iridescent feathers. ... Binomial name Phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus, 1758) Common Redstart The Redstart or Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family (Turdidae), but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). ... Binomial name Emberiza schoeniclus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. ... Binomial name Turdus torquatus Linnaeus, 1758 The Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae. ... Binomial name Carduelis spinus Linnaeus, 1758 The Eurasian Siskin, or just Siskin in Europe, Carduelis spinus, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. ... Binomial name Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758 The Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small passerine bird. ... Binomial name Gallinago gallinago Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a small, stocky shorebird. ... Binomial name Turdus philomelos Brehm, 1831 The Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a common European member of the thrush family Turdidae. ... Binomial name Saxicola rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766) The European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, family Muscicapidae. ... Binomial name Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a small migratory passerine bird found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. ... Binomial name Oenanthe oenanthe (Linnaeus, 1758) The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. ... Binomial name Saxicola rubetra (Linnaeus, 1758) The Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. ... Binomial name Sylvia communis Latham, 1787 The Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, is a common and widespread Old World warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. ... Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ... This article refers to the Eurasian leaf warbler. ... Binomial name Emberiza citrinella Linnaeus, 1758 The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. ... Illustration of a male Coho Salmon The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow to 1. ... Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss Biwa trout, Oncorhynchus masou subsp Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae. ...

External links

• Devon Wildlife Trust
• Devon Pets and Wildlife