Fauna of Ireland bear mtDNA. The closest surviving brown bear is Ursus arctos middendorffi in Alaska. Only one land reptile is native to the country, the viviparous lizard. It is common in national parks, particularly in the Wicklow Mountains. Slowworms are common in parts of The Burren area in County Clare, but they are not a native species and were probably introduced in the 1970s. Five marine turtle species appear regularly off the west coast, the leatherback, green, hawksbill, loggerhead, and Kemp's ridley, but they very rarely come ashore. Legend attributes the absence of snakes in Ireland to Saint Patrick, who is said
Loggerhead shrike Loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike ("Lanius ludovicianus") is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike ("L. borealis") occurs north of its range but also in the eastern Palearctic. It is nicknamed the butcherbird after its carnivorous tendencies, as it consumes prey such as amphibians, insects, lizards, small mammals and small birds, and some prey end up displayed and stored at a site, for example in a tree. Due to its small size and weak talons, this predatory bird relies on impaling its prey