Wild animals
These animals only appear where they live in the real world (see Wildlife on SolarCiv), and each area has a finite number of them.
Red deer
Where: woods, moors and mountains across Europe: the Scottish Highlands, Exmoor, the New Forest, Ireland's Killarney, the Black Forest, the Carpathians, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia and more. You'll also find them in the Atlas mountains of Tunisia and Algeria, and in introduced populations in New Zealand and Patagonia.
Herds and stags:
- Hinds live in herds led by an old hind, with their spotted calves in summer.
- Stags keep to themselves or roam in small groups.
Wary: a herd lifts its heads when someone walks towards it, and one gives a sharp bark. If you keep coming, they all run. Sneak to get much closer. Deer lie down at night.
In the autumn rut (September to November in the north, March to May in the south), stags roar across the glens and may charge anyone who comes too close. A hind with a young calf (May to July in the north) may charge to defend it. A wounded stag may turn on whoever hurt it.
Great white shark
Where: cool coastal seas, in deep water:
- off South Africa (Gansbaai, Mossel Bay);
- off southern Australia and New Zealand;
- off California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island);
- off New England (Cape Cod);
- in the Mediterranean;
- around Japan;
- off central Chile.
You won't find them in the Black Sea, the Baltic or the Caribbean.
How it behaves:
- It patrols deep water, and sometimes cruises at the surface with its fin showing.
- It's curious: it may come and circle a swimmer or a boat, then lose interest and leave.
- It doesn't attack on sight. Real great whites sometimes mistake a swimmer for a seal, though, and after circling someone at the surface one may take a test bite and then let go. Swimmers who are already hurt are bitten more often. Boats are only ever circled.
- Attack one and it bites back before leaving.
Boats are safe. If a shark starts circling you while you're swimming, get out of the water or into a boat.
Squirrels
- Red squirrels (orange, with ear tufts) live in woods across Europe and northern Asia. In Britain the grey has pushed them out of most places, but they hold on in Scotland, on Anglesey, the Isle of Wight, Brownsea Island, around Formby and in Kielder and Northumberland.
- Grey squirrels live in eastern North America, and have been brought to England, Wales, Ireland, northern Italy and Cape Town.
They forage on the ground in quick hops near their tree, sit up to nibble and flick their bushy tails. Get close and they dash up the trunk to sit in the canopy until you've gone. Squirrels are happy in town parks, unless the town has turned wildlife off.
Penguins
All eight live in the southern hemisphere, on shores close to the sea:
| Penguin | Where | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| Emperor | Antarctica's coasts | The tallest, golden ear patches |
| Adélie | All around Antarctica | White ring round each eye |
| King | South Georgia, the Falklands, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie | Bright orange ear patches |
| Gentoo | The Falklands, South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula | White band over the head, orange bill |
| African | South Africa and Namibia (Boulders Beach, Robben Island) | Black chest band, white face stripe |
| Magellanic | Patagonian coasts and the Falklands | Two black chest bands |
| Humboldt | Peru and northern Chile | Black chest band |
| Little | Southern Australia and New Zealand | The smallest, slate-blue back |
Colonies stand about preening and calling, waddle to and fro, and head off for a swim before coming back. On snow and ice they slide on their bellies. Come too close and they waddle away or dive into the sea.
Earthworms
Where: anywhere there's soil.
- Digging: when you dig dirt, grass, mud, podzol, moss, farmland or clay, a worm sometimes wriggles up in the hole. It happens more often in rich soil like mud, farmland and moss, and in the rain.
- Rain: worms also come up onto open grass by themselves, so a rainy walk across a field is a good time to find them.
A worm crawls about for half a minute or so, then burrows back down. Right-click one to pick it up as an Earthworm:
| Use | How |
|---|---|
| Fishing bait | Hold worms in your off hand when you cast: fish bite in about half the time (one worm per cast) |
| Compost | Right-click a composter with a worm to add a layer |
| Chickens | Feed a worm to a chicken to get it ready to breed |
| Bird food | Throw one on the ground for pigeons or ducks |
Earthworms have a page in your Wildlife Journal.