Fact Book • Ages 6–9
🦔 Woodland Animals
Step into the British woodland and discover the amazing animals that live among the trees!
3m hectaresUK woodland area
70+ speciesBritish woodland birds
13%of UK is woodland
6woodland creatures
📚 Woodland Animals
Britain's woodlands are extraordinary habitats, teeming with wildlife. From the ancient oak forests of England to the Caledonian pinewoods of Scotland, woods provide food, shelter and breeding grounds for hundreds of species. Many of these animals are nocturnal — most active at night — making them exciting but often rarely seen. Let's explore!
🦔
Hedgehog
- Has around 5,000 spines — each one is a modified hair
- Rolls into a ball to protect itself from predators
- Eats beetles, worms, slugs and caterpillars
- Hibernates from October to April
- UK population has declined by a third since 2000
🦊
Red Fox
- Britain's most adaptable wild mammal
- Lives in both woodland and urban areas
- Has an excellent sense of hearing and smell
- A female fox is called a vixen, young are cubs
- Communicates with over 20 different sounds
🦡
Badger
- Lives in underground tunnels called a sett
- A sett can be used by the same family for 100 years
- Eats mainly earthworms — up to 200 per night
- Has a distinctive black and white striped face
- Britain's largest land predator
🦉
Tawny Owl
- Britain's most common owl
- Makes the famous "twit-twoo" sound (actually two owls)
- Can rotate its head 270 degrees
- Completely silent in flight due to special feathers
- Has forward-facing eyes giving excellent night vision
🦌
Roe Deer
- Britain's most common native deer
- Only males (bucks) have antlers, shed each year
- Can jump 2 metres high from standing
- Mostly solitary — unlike red deer which live in herds
- Barks like a dog when alarmed
🐿️
Red Squirrel
- Britain's native squirrel — grey squirrels are an introduced species
- Population down to just 140,000 in the UK
- Hides food called caches for winter
- Remarkable memory helps it find buried nuts months later
- Found mainly in Scotland, Northumberland and Anglesey
✨ Amazing Facts
🌙 Most woodland animals are nocturnal — they are most active in the dark when fewer predators are around.
🌳 A single mature oak tree can support over 2,000 species of insects, birds, fungi and plants.
🦔 Hedgehogs can travel up to 2 km in a single night searching for food.
🐿️ A red squirrel can find nuts it buried months earlier, even under 30 cm of snow.
🦉 Owls swallow prey whole and then cough up the bones and fur as a "pellet".
🦡 Badger setts can have over 30 entrances and contain tunnels stretching 20 metres underground.
🤔 Woodland Animals Quiz
Click each answer to check it instantly!
Question 1 of 6
What do hedgehogs do in winter? 🦔
- Migrate to warmer countries
- Hibernate from October to April
- Build a larger nest
- Grow extra spines for warmth
Question 2 of 6
What is a badger's underground home called? 🦡
- A den
- A burrow
- A sett
- A lodge
Question 3 of 6
Why is the red squirrel under threat in Britain? 🐿️
- Woodland is disappearing too quickly
- Grey squirrels, an introduced species, compete with and carry disease to red squirrels
- Red squirrels cannot survive British winters
- Owls and foxes hunt them to extinction
Question 4 of 6
How far can a hedgehog travel in one night? 🌙
- About 100 metres
- About 500 metres
- Up to 2 kilometres
- Up to 10 kilometres
Question 5 of 6
How many species can a single mature oak tree support? 🌳
- About 50
- About 200
- About 500
- Over 2,000
Question 6 of 6
What do owls do with the bones and fur from their prey? 🦉
- Bury them in the ground
- Carry them back to their nest
- Cough them up as a compact "pellet"
- Leave them in the prey's habitat
📚 Key Words
nocturnal
Active at night. Hedgehogs, badgers and foxes are all nocturnal animals, resting during the day and hunting after dark.
hibernation
A deep winter sleep in which an animal's body temperature drops and it lives off stored fat. Hedgehogs and dormice hibernate.
sett
The underground tunnel system where badgers live. A sett can be used by the same badger family for over 100 years.
habitat
The natural environment where an animal lives. Woodland is the habitat for foxes, badgers, deer and many other species.
cache
A hidden store of food. Red squirrels bury caches of nuts and seeds to eat during winter.
predator
An animal that hunts other animals for food. Foxes and owls are woodland predators.
native
Originally from a particular place. The red squirrel is Britain's native squirrel; the grey squirrel was introduced from North America.
biodiversity
The variety of living things in an area. Woodland habitats are among the most biodiverse in Britain.
📚 More to Explore