Dorset Wildlife

Dorset, with its wide variety of landscapes, is a very rich county for wildlife. The Natural History Gallery shows some of the many habitats that can be found in Dorset, including woodland, lowland heath, rivers and coastal areas. The displays also deal with conservation issues and changing environments. For example, puffins were once fairly common along the Dorset cliffs, but now only a handful nest there in the early summer. Behind the scenes, the Dorset County Museum houses extensive research collections, including butterflies, birds, molluscs, mammals and the Mansel-Pleydell European herbarium.