Most of the common British species are present. None of the larger deer, seals, whales, dolphins or porpoises is represented. The more unusual species present are pine marten and wild cat from Scotland and an edible dormouse!

Water voles used to be a common sight in rivers and streams across the country, but they declined dramatically in the 1980s due to habitat destruction and the spread of the predatory American mink. In Coventry, small isolated vole populations still survive on the edges of brooks in the west of the City. A toe from one of our Kenilworth specimens was donated for DNA analysis to the National Water Vole Recovery Programme. The results will be used to compare the DNA of voles so that new populations can be introduced from mainland Europe that most closely match the genetic fingerprint of UK voles. This is just one example of museum specimens being using to help conserve living animal populations.