This page is a high moor. Move your pointer across the heather and your animal will walk, bound, slide or soar after you. Choose a different animal at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
Macclesfield right now checking the sky…
The red deer is the largest wild land mammal in Britain. A big stag can weigh as much as three grown men.
In autumn the stags roar and clash antlers to win a group of females. This is called the rut.
Stags shed their antlers each spring and grow a new, usually bigger, set by late summer.
Growing antlers are covered in soft, furry skin called velvet, which the stag rubs off when they are finished.
Calves are born in early summer with white spots, and lie hidden in the heather or bracken.
For most of the year the males, called stags, and the females, called hinds, live in separate herds.
Meet them all
Cervus elaphus
Britain's largest land animal: a russet-brown deer, the stags crowned with great branching antlers.
Lepus timidus
A hare of the high ground that turns white in winter. It is smaller than the brown hare, with shorter ears.
Aquila chrysaetos
A huge, dark brown bird of prey with a golden head, soaring over the hills on broad wings.
Lagopus scotica
A plump, reddish-brown bird of the heather, with a red eyebrow and feathered white legs.
Vipera berus
Britain's only venomous snake: short and stocky, with a dark zigzag all the way down its back.
Numenius arquata
Britain's largest wading bird: streaky brown, on long legs, with a very long beak that curves downwards.
Through the year
The green months are when you're most likely to see each one in Britain. The animal following you is shown in red.
Out on the hill
From March to July, birds such as curlews and grouse nest on the ground. Keeping to the path keeps their eggs safe.
A loose dog can scatter a family of chicks in seconds. Keep dogs on a short lead on open moorland.
Deer, hares and eagles keep their distance. Sit down, scan the hillside slowly, and look for movement.
If you see an adder, stay back and let it slide away. Wear boots, and watch where you put your hands on sunny banks.
Dry heather and peat burn fiercely, and a moorland fire can smoulder underground for weeks.
It is colder and windier on the tops than in the valley. Take an extra layer, and tell someone where you are going.
Real photos of the animals on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
Pick a clear day, go with an adult, take a map and a waterproof, and stop often to look and listen. On a moor, most things are seen from a long way off.
Back to the topSnails and spiders aren't insects: a snail is a mollusc, and spiders have eight legs.
Pond animals live on the Pond page: choosing one takes you there.
Seashore animals live on the Seashore page: choosing one takes you there.
River animals live on the River page: choosing one takes you there.
Animals from other parts of the world live on their own pages: change area.