Europe has 231 mammal species that have been present since at least AD1500, and a further 30 species that arrived later. Most live on land, and almost a third are unique to Europe, being found nowhere else in the world. Sadly, 62 species have declining populations, and many more could be at risk since insufficient information is available to allow trends to be assessed.

At least 16% of species are Threatened with extinction in the near future according to official Red List assessments for Europe, and a further 8% are Near Threatened. The Aurochs (a precursor of domestic cattle) and the Sardinan Pika are already globally extinct. The Grey Whale, which used to be found in the Baltic, around Iceland, and in the English Channel, is regionally extinct and now survives only in the Pacific. The conservation status of marine mammals is particularly perilous, with 22% of them being considered Threatened, and 44% being Data Deficient which means that assessments cannot be made.