All creatures great and small

Six hero species are leading the way in Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Great Yorkshire Creature Count, writes Hetti Lawrence from the organisation. What does this tell us about the future of the county’s wildlife?

- Hetti Lawrence

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust undertook its first ever Great Yorkshire Creature Count, a wonderful 24 hours spent in search of the wildlife on our doorsteps. For one weekend only, we asked the people of Yorkshire to explore their outdoor spaces and spot, snap and record the wildlife found there. We had an incredible response with more than 13,000 observations recorded over the 24 hours, and more than 1,400 different species.

We may still be collating the results but taking part in the Great Yorkshire Creature Count served as a wonderful reminder of the myriad of incredible wildlife many of us are lucky enough to live alongside. In true celebration of Yorkshire, we will be releasing the full results on Yorkshire Day on our website – with more details on them in the next issue of Yorkshire Life. But we wanted to introduce you, before then, to our six hero species.

Helping guide the people of Yorkshire around their outdoor spaces, the Great Yorkshire Creature Count’s hero species are the perfect introduction to the variety of animals found in every corner of our gardens, yards and window boxes – from lurking in the depths of lush ponds to wheeling through the air at dusk on a summer’s evening.

PIPISTRELLE BAT