10 Fun Facts About English Animals
- Apr 14
- 2 min read
Happy St George’s Day! To celebrate, we have brought our 10 Fun Facts series home to England. We have lots of wonderful English animals. Join us as we explore - from farms, homes and gardens, to the lakes of the Lake District, Exmoor Forests and Norfolk pond.
10 Fun Facts about English Animals
Zebra spiders jump 14x their own body length.
At 5-9mm long, these arachnids are tiny! This species hunts during the day and is often spotted in gardens and homes.
The red deer is England’s largest mammal.
From one of the smallest English creatures to the largest. Red deer stags can weigh up to 190kg. Exmoor has the largest wild red deer population in England.
England’s rarest amphibian lives in Norfolk’s Thompson Common.
The pool frog was extinct in England in the 1990s. In 2021, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) reintroduced the species to Thompson Common in pingo pools.
Barn owls are sometimes known as ‘demon owls’.
Their eerie shriek can be heard throughout the English countryside. In folklore, a barn owl shrieking around a sick person's home signals death.
Water stick insects have their own snorkel.
This species has a cool adaptation that allows the stick insect to breathe through their tail like a siphon. Find out more about this fascinating creature.
The Lake District holds England’s only Arctic Char.
This incredibly rare species is a keystone species for the lakes. They have adapted to cold, clean water, which makes them sensitive to climate change and pollution.
When is a slow worm not a slow worm?
When it’s a snake!
How can you tell them apart? Ask yourself these questions:
Does it blink?
Does it have a notched tongue?
Is it neckless?
If you answer yes to all of these, it’s a slow worm.
The robin is England’s favourite bird.
Robins have adapted to human presence and are often spotted waiting with gardeners as they turn up the soil. In woodlands, robins are known to follow large mammals as they disturb the ground, bringing worms and other bugs to the surface. Garden robins mimic this behaviour with humans.
The common rough woodlouse has 14 legs.
Despite common misconceptions, woodlice are not insects but crustaceans.
Cave lions went extinct in England 12000 years ago.
Lions disappeared from England during the last ice age. So, why are they the national animal? Linked to King Richard 1st and the Norman Kings, the lion embodies courage and strength and has been featured on royal coats of arms and emblems throughout the centuries.
Interested in learning more about English animals? Ask our team about a Native Species workshop.
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