LEICESTERSHIRE & RUTLAND WILDLIFE TRUST
DANNY GREEN/2020VISION
Devoted to the
dormouse
Dormice have been absent from our counties for two decades, but a project to reintroduce them offers hope for the future. County Mammal Recorder Dr Helen O’Brien, who lead the feasibility study into their release, tell us more.
T
Driving the decline Dormice are strongly dependent on woodland habitat and features such as hedgerows and scrub that connect sites 22
Wild | Winter/Spring 2024
Inside a dormouse nestbox.
TOM MARSHALL
he common or hazel dormouse was once widespread in the UK but has declined a staggering 51% since the year 2000. Its range is now more restricted than ever, making the dormouse vulnerable to local extinction. These tiny mammals, weighing just 15-40g, are mainly found in the south of England and Wales, with scattered populations in the Midlands and the north of England where they have been reintroduced over the past 30 years to improve the species’ chance of survival. Though once present in parts of east Leicestershire and Rutland, the last record here is from 2004 and it was accepted they were absent from the two counties after several local studies found no evidence of their presence.
and help them to disperse. The main reasons behind their decline are the fragmentation, deterioration and loss of habitat, and the changing climate. Inappropriate management of woodlands in the past has meant dormice are now absent from many counties. While many areas may now be more appropriately managed and better suited to dormice, they are unlikely to return without some assistance due to their isolation from viable populations. How
we manage our woodlands and connect them to the wider countryside will determine the survival of this species. Changes in our climate generally mean warmer, wetter winters. This is not good for dormice, which hibernate in winter when food is scarce. If they wake up during a mild spell, they may starve or become weak and in danger of predation. Conversely, an unseasonably cool summer may trigger an involuntarily semi-state of torpor, which if occurring during the breeding season or when offspring are young, could seriously impact a local population. Local reintroductions In late 2020 LRWT commissioned a study with the support of Twycross Zoo to investigate the feasibility of reintroducing dormice to our two counties. The study considered past and present records of dormice and identified the National Forest cluster of woodlands – both new
