Editing Wales (section)

===Flora and fauna===
{{Main|Biodiversity of Wales}}

Wales's wildlife is typical of Britain with several distinctions. Because of its long coastline, Wales hosts a variety of seabirds. The coasts and surrounding islands are home to colonies of [[northern gannet|gannet]]s, [[Manx shearwater]], [[Atlantic puffin|puffin]]s, [[black-legged kittiwake|kittiwakes]], [[European shag|shags]] and [[razorbill]]s. In comparison, with 60 per cent of Wales above the 150m contour, the country also supports a variety of upland-habitat birds, including [[common raven|raven]] and [[ring ouzel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecologymatters.co.uk/pdf/Wales_Ring_Ouzel_paper.pdf |title=Wales Ring Ouzel Survey 2006 |publisher=Ecology Matters Ltd. |last=Green |first=Mick |year=2007 |access-date=6 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311210912/http://www.ecologymatters.co.uk/pdf/Wales_Ring_Ouzel_paper.pdf |archive-date=11 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4644626.stm |title=Black ravens return to the roost |publisher=BBC |date=24 January 2006 |access-date=6 September 2010}}</ref> [[Birds of prey]] include the [[merlin (bird)|merlin]], [[hen harrier]] and the [[red kite]], a national symbol of Welsh wildlife.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?view=print&id=tcm:9-176206 |title=Red kite voted Wales' Favourite Bird |publisher=[[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] |date=11 October 2007 |access-date=6 September 2010 |archive-date=23 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823014457/http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?view=print&id=tcm:9-176206 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In total, more than 200 different species of bird have been seen at the [[RSPB]] reserve at [[Conwy]], including seasonal visitors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/about.aspx |title=About Conwy |publisher=RSPB.org.uk |date=16 April 2010 |access-date=6 September 2010}}</ref> Larger mammals, including brown bears, wolves and wildcats, died out during the Norman period. Today, mammals include shrews, voles, badgers, otters, stoats, weasels, hedgehogs and fifteen species of bat. Two species of small rodent, the [[yellow-necked mouse]] and the [[hazel dormouse|dormouse]], are of special Welsh note being found at the historically undisturbed border area.<ref name="Davies533">Davies (2008) p. 533</ref> The [[pine marten]], which has been sighted occasionally, has been reintroduced in parts of Wales since 2015, having previously not been officially recorded since the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pine marten spotted on Anglesey after 30 years |work=BBC News |date=12 July 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-62137570 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref> The [[European polecat|polecat]] was nearly driven to extinction in Britain, but hung on in Wales and is now rapidly spreading. [[Feral goat]]s can be found in Snowdonia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/nov/13/conservationandendangeredspecies.uknews |title=Goats have roamed Snowdonia for 10,000 years; now they face secret cull |first=John|last=Vidal|work=guardian.co.uk |date=13 November 2006 |access-date=14 August 2011 |location=London}}</ref> In March 2021, [[Natural Resources Wales]] (NRW) granted a licence to release up to six [[beaver]]s in the [[River Dyfi|Dyfi Valley]], the first official beaver release in Wales.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|date=30 March 2021|last=Grug|first=Mari|title=Licensed beavers released in Wales for the first time|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56565050|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref>

Believed to be home to some of Wales's rarest land invertebrates, some 2,500 disused coal tips are the subject of study by the Welsh Government; the tips are home to a wide variety of other wildlife.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|title=Coal tip repairs threaten rare wildlife, ecologists warn|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66632770|first1=Steffan |last1=Messenger |first2=Gavin |last2=Fischer|date=29 August 2023|access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

The waters of south-west Wales of Gower, Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Bay attract marine animals, including [[basking sharks]], Atlantic [[grey seal]]s, leatherback turtles, dolphins, [[porpoises]], jellyfish, crabs and lobsters. Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, in particular, are recognised as an area of international importance for [[bottlenose dolphin]]s, and [[New Quay]] has the only summer residence of bottlenose dolphins in the whole of the UK. Freshwater fish of note include [[Salvelinus|char]], eel, [[salmon]], [[shad]], [[European smelt|sparling]] and [[Arctic char]], while the [[gwyniad]] is unique to Wales, found only in [[Bala Lake]]. Wales is known for its shellfish, including [[Cockle (bivalve)|cockles]], [[limpet]], [[mussel]]s and [[Common periwinkle|periwinkles]]. [[Herring]], [[mackerel]] and [[hake]] are the more common of the country's marine fish.<ref name="Hist 286-288">Davies (1994) pp. 286–288</ref> The north facing high grounds of Snowdonia support a [[Relict (biology)|relict]] pre-glacial flora including the iconic Snowdon lily – ''[[Gagea serotina]]'' – and other [[alpine climate|alpine]] species such as ''[[Saxifraga cespitosa]]'', ''[[Saxifraga oppositifolia]]'' and ''[[Silene acaulis]]''. Wales has a number of plant species not found elsewhere in the UK, including the spotted rock-rose ''[[Tuberaria guttata]]'' on Anglesey and ''[[Draba aizoides]]'' on the Gower.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Atlas of the British Flora|editor1-last=Perring |editor1-first=E.&nbsp;H. |editor2-last=Walters |editor2-first=S.&nbsp;M. |year=1990 |publisher=BSBI |location= Melksham, Great Britain|isbn=978-0-901158-19-2 |page=43}}</ref>