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Wildlife247.co.uk
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      • Wildlife friendly farm celebrates raising £2 million for wildlife conservation
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      • New film from Sir David Attenborough and The Wildlife Trusts calls for nature’s recovery
      • UK's wildlife continues to decline according to new state of nature report
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      • It could become legal to kill wild barnacle geese in the UK in the near future, if a proposal by Norway to the EU is adopted
      • Major project to safeguard Orkney’s internationally important native wildlife wins National Lottery and LIFE support
      • Kate Humble becomes new President of WWT
    • Nature Reserves & Events >
      • Events: Join us at the National Outdoor Expo on March 19-20 with 50% off tickets for Wildlife24/7 readers
      • Winter walks: nature reserves hotspots to head to in the cold
      • Good news! The Wildlife Trusts are to receive nearly £2 million to restore land for nature and tackle climate change
      • WWT to re-open 6 wetland centres in England after Covid-19 crisis
      • Start 2019 in style with a trip to one of these famous five nature reserves
      • The annual ‘swanfall’ at WWT Slimbridge has started with a flurry of Bewick’s swans arriving for the winter
      • Where can you watch owls in the UK? Plan your trip with Wildlife24/7's six best places to watch owls this winter
      • A starling spectacular!
      • Eels at WWT reserve being microchipped to track movements of a species on the brink
      • Endangered beetle hides out at WWT Welney
    • News & Features >
      • Bugs >
        • New online tool opens up the world of bats, bush-crickets and small mammals
      • Birds >
        • >> Birding247.co.uk
        • Birdwatching: look out for migratory birds returning to the UK
        • Birdwatching: Roseate terns break breeding record for the sixth year in a row at RSPB Coquet Island
        • BTO ask British public to participate in a national study of Tawny Owls and their calling behaviour this autumn and winter
        • The prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition has announced the 2018 winners
      • Mammals >
        • Volunteers wanted for innovative Scottish Mountain Hare survey
        • 2021 will be a record year for Beaver releases in Britain
        • One of Britain's rarest mammals returns to Forest of Dean
      • Marine >
        • Marine: England's largest ever seagrass planting reaches new milestone
        • Marine review 2021: Conservation successes undermined by increasing disruption to UK seas
        • Easing of Covid restrictions in 2020 produced once in a lifetime wildlife watching opportunities for UK's population
        • Get ready to dive into National Marine Week 2019!
        • Shoresearch: new project launches to help count marine life on UK shores
      • Travel >
        • Safari
        • Islands
        • Oceans
        • Europe
        • South America
        • UK & Ireland
        • Survival & Awareness
  • Wildlife In Your Garden
    • Garden Birdwatch: The Vikings are coming to the UK
    • 30 Days Wild to return this June
    • Did you get a lockdown frog in your garden pond?
    • Innovative 'smart' nest box to launch kickstarter campaign
    • Wake up to wildlife with the new Big Wild Breakfast on June 1 which kicks off the 30 Days Wild Challenge!
    • Walk for wildlife this autumn!
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    • Online nature activities to help you get through Covid-19 lockdown
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    • Five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds
    • Five essential things to look for when choosing a nest box for outside your home or garden
    • Top tips to help your garden birds survive winter
Picture
Advertisement

Thousandth hazel dormouse brought back to the wild


18 June 2021
Picture
A collaboration project has overseen the 1,000th captive-bred hazel dormouse to be released into the wild in a UK-wide reintroduction scheme for these threatened mammals.

Once widespread, the animals have now disappeared from 17 English counties. Big-eyed and famously sleepy, the dormouse is a woodland and fairy tale icon, but it is a species in decline. 

Reintroduction, scientists say, is the only way to bring dormice back to habitats from which they have been lost. The project, a collaboration between the wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Natural England and the University of Cumbria, brought 15 breeding pairs to a secret location in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Lancashire.

Ian White, who has worked for the PTES for 15 years said: 
"When I started 15 years ago, there were five populations in northern England, and now there's only one. It's a decline in woodland and hedgerow management. Dormice live in the shrub layer of woodland, and in many areas that layer has been stripped out, or the forest has been left to grow up and shade out the understory."

With its tangle of hazel, willow and bramble, the chosen Lancashire release site is ideal for the rodents, but getting them there has been a time-consuming team effort.

The 30 dormice in this most recent (and most northerly) release were bred and reared in captivity at London Zoo. They were kept in quarantine for nine weeks and thoroughly checked for disease or parasites, before being transported more than 250 miles by car.
The animals travelled in special dormouse nest boxes that were handmade by prisoners in HMP Doncaster and Humber - as part of a partnership between the PTES and the Department of Justice.

Dr Deborah Brady, from the University of Cumbria in Ambleside commented: 
"Dormice belong here. But 50% of the population has been lost in just the last 20 years, which fits in with the loss of biodiversity we are facing more broadly. And this is a species that we can practically help - we can do something about that. We should end up with a population of possibly 70 or 80 animals in three very closely connected woodlands. Those animals will hopefully breed and we'll be watching that population really carefully."

The same team is planning another reintroduction next year in a nearby location.

Next article: Five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds
​
Next article: Where can you watch owls in the UK? 
Next article: Endangered beetle hides out at WWT Welney​
​
Next article: 
BTO ask British public to participate in a national study of Tawny Owls and their calling behaviour this autumn and winter
Next article: The prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) competition has announced the 2018 winners
Picture
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  • Editor's Choice
  • Latest Gear Reviews
    • Review: SWAROVSKI OPTIK CL Curio 7x21 Binoculars
    • Review: Viking Optical Badger 8x42 Binoculars
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      • Watch: a new short film called 'The Fox and the Allotment'
      • Widen your wildlife watching experience further with some great viewing enhancing binocular accessories from Kowa
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      • Eels at WWT reserve being microchipped to track movements of a species on the brink
      • Endangered beetle hides out at WWT Welney
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        • BTO ask British public to participate in a national study of Tawny Owls and their calling behaviour this autumn and winter
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        • One of Britain's rarest mammals returns to Forest of Dean
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        • Marine: England's largest ever seagrass planting reaches new milestone
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        • Easing of Covid restrictions in 2020 produced once in a lifetime wildlife watching opportunities for UK's population
        • Get ready to dive into National Marine Week 2019!
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    • 30 Days Wild to return this June
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    • Innovative 'smart' nest box to launch kickstarter campaign
    • Wake up to wildlife with the new Big Wild Breakfast on June 1 which kicks off the 30 Days Wild Challenge!
    • Walk for wildlife this autumn!
    • 7 simple tips on how to improve your gardens for hedgehogs safety and wellbeing
    • New ‘wild’ home learning hub helps parents be fun science teachers
    • Online nature activities to help you get through Covid-19 lockdown
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    • Proof that feeding garden birds has led to population increases in over 30 species since the 1970's
    • Five of our favourite springtime wildlife sights and sounds
    • Five essential things to look for when choosing a nest box for outside your home or garden
    • Top tips to help your garden birds survive winter