Pygmy shrew
Sorex minutus
Llyg lleiaf
Native, widespread mammal in Great Britain
Protected under Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, therefore requiring a licence to trap.
Status:
Poorly recorded in Snowdonia, for its distribution. Pygmy shrews tend to be found more so than common shrews at higher altitudes and in more wet, moorland, type habitat. Throughout the lowland areas they live alongside each other (‘sympatry’ i.e. the use of the same or overlapping geographical areas, by populations of related species, without interbreeding), also co-existing with water shrews. Pygmy shrews are widespread in all types of habitats, but generally more abundant where cover is greatest. They tend to favour grassland over woodland.