Wildlife World Autumn 2021 by People's Trust for Endangered Species

Wildlife World

people’s trust for endangered species

AUTUMN 2021 ISSUE 20

UK Mammal survey Dormouse release New Forest roe deer London’s hedgehogs

ISSN 2049-8268

Hedgehog heroes How you are reviving the fortunes of Britain’s favourite mammal. Not just a climate crisis World leaders must tackle threats to the world’s wildlife and habitats at the same time as reducing carbon emissions.

Overseas Nepal’s wild dogs Botswana’s cheetahs Giant anteaters of Brazil Snow leopard survey success

The real Paddington How one of our projects in the cloud forests of Ecuador is uncovering the secrets of South America’s only species of bear.

Hedge restoration New PTES-developed app helps farmers and other landowners manage their hedges for the benefit of wildlife and people.

Bringing the wild back to life Wildlife World is published by People’s Trust for Endangered Species

Our wildlife is disappearing. Almost two thirds of species in the UK have declined in the past 50 years. There’s nothing natural or inevitable about this. It can be stopped. And everyone can play a part. That’s why People’s Trust for Endangered Species exists.

Find out more www.ptes.org

Cheetahs Cheetahs are magnificent, but in parts of Africa they are persecuted because of their impact on livestock. It’s understandable that people resort to illegal methods to stop wild carnivores taking their goats and sheep, so the answer is to work with the herders to reduce this. That’s why PTES is funding Cheetah Conservation Botswana to train special dogs to act as guard dogs and so reduce or stop attacks. This, in turn, renders retaliatory killings unnecessary – making everyone a winner!

WILDLIFE WORLD

Welcome Hedgehog Street, our campaign run with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, is 10 years old. You can read about some of its accomplishments in this edition. And before the year end, we’ll publish the latest State of Britain’s Hedgehogs report compiled from our own and other wildlife survey data. The news is likely to be mixed for hedgehogs. Even so, there’s no shortage of inspiring people to help them as we sail past the 100,000 milestone for volunteer Hedgehog Champions, who are all inspired by their love for the species. Doing something practical on your doorstep can make all the difference for wildlife. Another national favourite, roe deer, are faring better than hedgehogs. But the population in the New Forest is vulnerable, as documented in New Forest Roe Deer by John Fawcett, published by PTES in 2003. Through an accident of lockdown, the book was wrongly declared out of print (by us – apologies all round). To make up for this, we feature it afresh on p18, where we offer a free copy on request, or you can simply download it to read. Thank you everyone for your loyal support.

Jill Nelson is the Chief Executive of People’s Trust for Endangered Species.

Wildlife World

YOUR PTES

PTES LE PEOP

In this edition 04 Izzy Fry explains why she gets her parents up early now and again and how she’s trying to change other teenagers’ attitudes in PTES People. 05

Frontline explores how two global conferences taking place at the end of 2021 have an opportunity to plot a different course for the world on both the climate and biodiversity.

06 In Conservation News, discover how hedges help the economy and why indigenous people should be given more control over the Amazon. Giant anteaters are an iconic resident of Brazil’s savannahs. Find out in Species Focus how our conservation partner has spent the past four years working to reduce anteater deaths from road-vehicle collisions.

Scrapbook gives the lowdown on the brilliant Hedgehog Street bake-off, and how our partner in north-east India has achieved a great success for golden langurs.

Hedgehog Street celebrates its 10th anniversary this year – we talk to the people making it a success and find out how hedgehog highways are helping populations in urban areas to bounce back.

Reports from our international partners include how a sustainable coffee project is benefiting slow lorises in PTES In Action. Plus news of roe deer in the New Forest and a dormouse release in the north-west.

In Thanks to you, how your donations are boosting efforts to protect Grevy’s zebras in Kenya and news of some brilliant tie-ins with two of our commercial partners.

Editor: James Fair Editorial team: Jill Nelson, Zoe Roden, Nida Al-Fulaij, Rachel Lawrence, Mark Duckers Art Editor: Zoe Roden Illustrations: Hayley Cove Print: 4-Print Cover image: © Coatsey / Shutterstock.com The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Contact us PTES Wildlife World Magazine 3 Cloisters House 8 Battersea Park Road London SW8 4BG Registered charity no: 274206 www.ptes.org enquiries@ptes.org 020 7498 4533

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From checking dormouse boxes to standing chest-deep in freezing rivers, Izzy Fry is prepared to do whatever it takes to help protect and restore our wildlife.

’ve been interested in the natural world, and the wildlife we share our planet with, from a very young age. My parents have really encouraged my passion and are always happy to get up early in the morning to take me bird ringing and to do the various different wildlife surveys I frequently take part in. I got involved with doing surveys for PTES through my local natural history society. I started with checking dormouse boxes – I help to monitor 50 or so boxes that are installed in a local ancient woodland. I love getting involved with scientific work that will help to conserve and protect endangered species. More recently, I’ve been standing chest-deep in freezing cold rivers taking part in water vole surveys, looking for any signs that this shy and increasingly rare species is in our local waterways. I’ve learnt so much about this river dwelling species – from where they burrow to how to identify droppings and footprints and what their diet consists of. Something I am very keen to change is the lack of young people with a love for nature or an interest in wildlife conservation. At school, I’m the only one who will stare out the window watching the swifts circling in the sky or lie down in the grass identifying all the tiny beetles. Through social media, I’m working to inspire a love for the natural world in others and to show people my age that you don’t have to be nerdy to be interested! In the future, I am hoping to go on to university to study wildlife conservation and ecology and then have a career in conservation in this country. ⚫ Find out more https://mynatureandphotographyblog.com/

I’m working to inspire a love for the natural world in others and to show people my age that you don’t have to be nerdy to be interested in wildlife!

FRONTLINE

Time for world leaders to address ecological crisis The importance of biodiversity is often ignored when we talk about environmental issues, but we cannot address climate change without protecting wildlife, says James Fair.

James Fair is a journalist specialising in wildlife conservation stories and editor of Wildlife World Magazine.

Wildlife World

s I write, the world is gearing up for the UN’s annual climate Insects, for example, fulfil numerous vital functions that grease change conference, known as COP (which stands for the wheels of human well-being, with pollination perhaps the most Conference of the Parties) 26 (because it’s the 26th one). important. An estimated three-quarters of the foods we eat require This year, it’s being held in Glasgow in November, providing an insects to pollinate the plants they come from. Insects can be an opportunity for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Government important source of protein for many people around the world and to show international leadership on the issue and a chance to are also essential waste recyclers. persuade the world to commit to effective measures that will reduce But everywhere we look, including Britain, insect populations carbon emissions. That’s the only way it will be seen as a success. are shrinking, perhaps by as much as 75 per cent globally over the But that’s not all. This conference will make it six years since the past half century, according to the noted ecologist Prof Dave ground-breaking Paris agreement of 2015 when signatories to the Goulson in his new book, Silent Earth: Averting the Insect convention agreed to try and limit global temperature rises to 1.5˚C. Apocalypse. ‘As insects become more scarce, our world will slowly Under that agreement, this year they must explain what their plans grind to a halt, for it cannot function without them,’ he says. are for achieving that goal and As with climate change, how well they are doing. there are targets for putting a In the UK, this Government halt to biodiversity declines, has committed us to achieving known as the Aichi targets. so-called net zero – where any There are 20 in total, but last carbon emissions we produce year it was revealed that the are offset by those taken in by global community has failed to natural ecosystems – by 2050. meet any of those 20 goals in Though that’s still nearly 30 full. And they’re not legal years away, the clock is ticking. requirements in the way the There are many climate change targets in many environmentalists who worry countries are. the Government isn’t cutting So, it’s clear – perhaps emissions fast enough to because the issue is so achieve this target or that it was complicated or because never committed to it in the first politicians don’t appreciate its place. By 2050, they say, Boris importance – that governments Insect populations are shrinking, perhaps are less committed to making Johnson and the current cabinet will be long gone. progress on restoring by as much as 75 per cent globally over But at least we have a firm biodiversity. It doesn’t help that the past half century target for cutting emissions. At there’s no single target, as with least it’s a legal obligation. climate change, that they can In mid-October there was put before their electorates. another international conference – it was called COP15, otherwise Whatever the reason, the fact is that achieving global unanimity known as the ‘Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to and success on the biodiversity goals is just as important as the Convention on Biological Diversity’. achieving those on climate change. COP15 probably won’t have made as many headlines as the In any case, the two are inextricably linked. We can’t keep global climate change conference will, but it should have. Declines in emissions low without maintaining massive carbon sinks such as biological diversity – the full range of species of animals, plants and forests and peatlands, and these are also hugely important for fungi – are just as ominous for the future of humans as global plants and wildlife. That’s something world leaders should bear in temperature rises. mind as they negotiate the finer details of COP26. ⚫

CONSERVATION NEWS

Grassroots action is the way out of climate and ecological crisis PTES supports projects all over the world run by local people and is calling for an increase in funding for them.

New research shines spotlight on hedge benefits Hedgerow creation would generate money and jobs, according to countryside charity study.

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lanting new hedges can not only generate money for the wider economy, it could also create new jobs, according to research carried out by the countryside charity CPRE. The research found that for every £1 invested in hedgerows, nearly £4 was created in the form of ecosystem services and economic activities. Hedges are vital refuges for wildlife and therefore enhance biodiversity, while an estimated five per cent of carbon stored on farmland is down to hedges. Hedges also play a role in improving air quality, in public health and well-being, and reducing flooding and soil erosion. The Climate Change Committee has recommended that the Government should set a target of increasing the extent of our hedgerows by 40 per cent by 2050. CPRE has backed this and found this could pave the way for the creation of 25,000 jobs. PTES has its own hedge conservation programme, including our recently launched Healthy Hedgerows app (see p19 for more on this). We know that creating new hedges and enhancing those that already exist will play a vital part in nature’s recovery here in Britain.⚫

London hedgehogs benefiting from joined-up habitats Internships funded by PTES are helping scientists uncover the secrets of the capital’s hedgehogs.

s we gear up for the climate change conference in Glasgow this November (see also, Frontline, p5), it’s important to understand both the changes we need to make and the impacts they’re likely to have. Restoring our relationship with the natural world is the most important task facing humanity, and halting the loss of our planet’s biodiversity and averting the worst effects of human-made climate change are twin efforts that cannot be considered in isolation. At the climate summit, the world’s leaders will aim to agree global solutions to the crises we face. The decisions will affect billions of people in countries and regions worst-hit by climate disasters, and in areas where losses to biodiversity are already proving to be most catastrophic. We must support the people transforming political ambitions into positive action on the ground. PTES is teaming up with similar donors who support grassroots conservationists globally. Together we will be calling for a huge scaling up of the funds needed to support these local communities, because they know best how to protect wildlife in their regions. ⚫

With your help, PTES is adding its voice to groups who say grassroots conservationists and indigenous people should have more say on how we protect wildlife. Plus news about hedgehogs and rare rhinos.

wo PTES interns have made important contributions to hedgehog research, advancing our understanding of the species and thereby helping with long-term conservation plans. Kate Scott-Gatty has been going through camera-trap pictures of hedgehogs taken in south-west London. This has revealed that Twickenham is a hotspot, while hogs on Barnes Common and Barnes Wetlands are well-connected and dispersing into surrounding areas (though the Barnes Common population appears to be in decline). Those in Beddington Park, in Sutton, are doing less well, possibly because they are cut off from other areas by busy roads. Gardens in some areas were found to be important hedgehog habitat. PTES conservation research manager Nida Al-Fulaij says Kate’s work shows how important joined-up habitats are. ‘It’s encouraging

CONSERVATION NEWS

Conservation congress calls for post-covid nature investment As well as making sure that more funding is diverted towards protecting natural ecosystems, the meeting also pushed for more action to protect the Amazon.

Mammals on Roads: 20 years on and still going strong Our Mammals on Roads survey is revealing vital details about the fortunes of our wildlife – take part if you can.

to see widespread and robust populations across south London and that hedgehogs are doing well in areas where gardens are wellconnected. But more work is needed as hedgehog numbers are still nowhere near what they were even 10 years ago,’ she adds. Another PTES intern, Dylan Carbone, as well as studying how hedgehogs are doing in and around Brockwell Park in south London, has helped to develop the use of machine learning to identify what animals are in the shots taken on remote cameras. Humans, dogs and foxes can all now be automatically identified in the photos, which means – for the London Hogwatch survey – those images can be discarded as not containing hedgehogs. The Hogwatch survey generates thousands upon thousands of photos which it takes many weeks to go through (one by one) to see what’s been captured. Dylan’s work will help to save hours of painstaking work and therefore allow results to be learned and communicated to relevant groups much faster. Dylan says this use of artificial intelligence and deep learning will be increasingly important in wildlife conservation and that gaining expertise in this new area through the internship will be of great help in his career. ‘Working with my supervisor has also given me a lot more confidence and it was lovely to work with the other members of the Hogwatch team,’ he adds. ⚫

nce again, PTES is asking for you to look out for and record dead mammals on Britain’s roads. Our Mammals on Roads survey has now just passed its 20th anniversary, and it’s a brilliant way of identifying trends such as whether a particular species’ population is going up or down. We’ve even got a really clever app that can help you submit any sightings you make – see below for details on how to get hold of it. Our mammals surveys coordinator David Wembridge points out no one likes to see mammals that have been hit by a vehicle, but these records provide valuable data. ‘Many of our native mammals are declining in number,’ Wembridge says. ‘We need help to find out which species are at risk and try to turn their fate around.’ For example, data from the survey has helped us to identify how hedgehog numbers have been dropping and therefore prompted conservation actions to turn this decline around. ⚫

Find out more www.ptes.org/get-involved/surveys/road/ or search for the App, Mammals on Roads, in your phone’s app store

Bonfire of the rhino horns sends message to poachers

very four years, a coalition of conservationists, academics, indigenous leaders and government officials come together for the World Conservation Congress, which is hosted by the IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This year it was held in Marseille, and more than 4,000 people met to thrash out solutions to some of the many biodiversity crises we’re facing. Researchers had a chance to present recent data on the status of some our most threatened species, and plans were formed to steer urgent actions over the next five years. The congress called on governments to invest at least 10 per cent of post-pandemic global recovery funds in nature. More specifically, the members, led by indigenous peoples groups, demanded immediate action to prevent the collapse of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. This congress is the first one where indigenous people have been as included as full voting members. Currently their territories and protected areas only cover 45 per cent of the Amazon. The congress approved a motion to aim for 80 per cent protection by 2025, largely managed by indigenous people themselves. ⚫

Stockpile sent up in flames by government of Assam to demonstrate that horns have no medicinal value.

Rhino horns in the possession of the government of the Indian state of Assam have been burned in a unique ceremony intended to give the message to poachers and users that they have no medicinal value. Assam had a stockpile of nearly 2,500 horns, which had been confiscated from poachers or traffickers or removed from dead animals. They all came from greater one-horned rhinos, which are only found today in India and Nepal and number about 3,700 in the wild. ⚫ Wildlife World

SPECIES FOCUS

Saving the savannah giants of Brazil © Ondrej Prosicky /Shutterstock.com

The giant anteater is the largest of four anteater species, reaching lengths of up to 2.4 metres – that includes its long bushy tail but not the 0.5 metre tongue that can flick in and out 150 times a minute as it consumes ants and termites by the bucketload. These extraordinary creatures are found in northern South America and some countries in Central America, but loss of habitat, direct persecution and collisions with vehicles are all having a negative impact. It’s the last of these issues that our partner in Brazil, Dr Arnaud Desbiez, is trying to address through his Anteaters & Highways project in the country’s southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul. 8

Wildlife World

SPECIES FOCUS

Highway patrols The best way to reduce the number of giant anteaters killed by vehicles is to stop the animals getting onto the roads at all.

he scrub forests and grasslands of Brazil’s Cerrado is perfect habitat for giant anteaters, with ample supplies of ants and termites on which they exclusively feed. But in the past 35 years, more than half of it has been converted into cattle pastures or arable fields. Added to this, unconverted habitat is increasingly criss-crossed by new roads, and giant anteaters are particularly vulnerable to being hit by cars and lorries. Desbiez and his team have spent four years researching what’s happening and how the impact can be reduced.

Road ramblers

The bare statistics show that over a period of roughly three and a half years, the Anteaters and Highways Project recorded more than 12,000 animals killed – of which 752 were giant anteaters – on nearly 1,500km of roads surveyed. Analysing the data, Desbiez and his colleagues concluded that giant anteaters aren’t able to change their behaviour to take account of the perils presented by road traffic. Those living close to highways continue to cross them whatever, and the result – almost inevitably – is population declines where you have roads and high volumes of traffic.

Barrier benefits

So, what’s the answer? The research also suggested that anteaters won’t choose to use tunnels or bridges that would enable them to cross roads safely, and so, on their own, these aren’t viable solutions. A better answer would be fencing that stops the animals from reaching the road in the first place. Though this would be impossible for all highways, the scientists suggest this could feasibly be done in areas with the highest roadkill rates and greatest volumes of traffic. There are benefits for road-users as well as the wildlife – the total cost of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Sao Paulo state alone has been put at $25 million (£18 million), and investing in fencing in mortality hotspots would pay for itself in 9-25 years, our scientists say.

Fenced out

Some fencing has been erected on one of Brazil’s main highways, the BR-262, which crosses Mato Grosso do Sul from the Bolivian frontier in the west to the border with the state of Sao Paolo in the east. In particular, fences have been put on two stretches to direct animals to corridors under bridges. ‘This is a huge victory, but we need to improve the design of the fences and extend this to many other areas,’ Desbiez and his team say. Funding from the federal government will allow them to monitor the effectiveness of these measures, and other fences are due to be installed on the BR-163, which cuts across the state from north to south. ⚫

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PTES NEWS

Scrapbook W

e love hearing from PTES people, whether supporters or project leaders. Pictures, reports, emails, web posts and letters give a great sense of your passion for wildlife, so please keep them coming!

Bat snaps Jim Mullholland is making progress in his project to find out whether he can use remote trail cameras to monitor woodland bats. He and his team have deployed 13 cameras on Bechstein’s and barbastelle bat roosts, with the aim of putting out 20 in total. Some videos and still images have been captured, but there’s plenty more work to do.

Dear PTES,

Champion efforts We’re delighted to report that we’ve reached an incredible milestone of 100,000 Hedgehog Champions! We’re thrilled to have so many of you on board and sharing what we can all do for our struggling hedgehogs. We want to thank each and every one of you for all you’ve done for hedgehogs. This achievement comes during our 10th birthday year, making it all the more special. As part of our birthday celebrations, we’ve launched a Hedgehog Street Bake Off, judged by Great British Bake Off legend Kim-Joy (top). We’ve been amazed by your handiwork – here are just a few of our favourites.

news with you I wanted to share some good 2 National km and your supporters - a 400+ along the ia, Ind in d ate Park has been cre result of my border with Bhutan as a direct really help will is work that you’re funding. Th happy to report golden langurs. And I’m also e Sanctuary that the Dehing Patkai Wildlif al Park for has been upgraded to a Nation d with your ne ppe gibbons - which has also ha support. Thank you so much. Best regards

Biswas o u s o ih J

Star bakers so far! Clockwise from top right: Izzy Cooper, Sivi Sivanesan, Nicky Deuchar, Hannah Colton, Asta Bower.

10 Wildlife World

Alvechurch , hedgehog hWorcestershire, are p lanning a village - an ighway spanning Community d had this wonderful their whole sta Festival to tell people nd at their all about it. © Jim Mullholand, Izzy Cooper, Sivi Sivanesan, Nicky Deuchar, Hannah Colton, Asta Bower, Annette English, Jihosuo Biswas, Douglas Livingstone, Mark Duckers, Max Kershaw, Paul Searle, Nick Horslen, Jane Durban

PTES NEWS

A day in the office with... Mar

k Duckers Trusts and Major Gifts M

anager

Wayfare for wildlife Amazing news from Katie Livingstone, whose son Douglas has raised the fantastic sum of £1,545.25 to be shared between PTES and the Air Ambulance. Starting during the third lockdown in February 2021, Douglas has now walked the entire 70-mile route of the Wayfarer’s Walk in Hampshire (in a number of stages) from Emsworth Harbour on the south coast to the chalk downs at Inkpen. Katie particularly recommends the trail from Emsworth and the last five miles to Inkpen for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps. Thank you, Douglas.

I joined PTES in April, du ring lockdown, to look aft er fundraising from supporters and grant-giv ing trusts. I came hot foo t from the Royal Horticultural Society wh ich, although much larg er than PTES, has some similar interests from a different angle. Althoug h Teams and Zoom calls have been a vital lifeline , nothing quite compares with talking face-to-face. So it’s been a delight aft er several months to finally meet colleagu es and supporters to discuss ideas and share news. We’re busy fundraising for some exciting projects and it’s a pleasu re to work alongside a group of people who do n’t just claim to be passionate about the wil dlife and the species we help, but demonstrate it daily in a very clear and inspiring way. I’m really looking forward to having these inspiring conversations with som e of you too – our supporters, donors and Mark e volunteers. We’ve missed you. wildlife njoys meetin - in this g case a his local shield bug !

Logging on for stag beetles

up an be tails c gth s ’ r u in len n lang Golde one metre to

You’ve mapped an amazing 1,667 log piles since the beginning of June. Of those, 1,193 were “ordinary” log piles, 245 were tree stumps that you’ve retained for wildlife and 229 were special log pyramids for stag beetles. We’d love to see the total number of dead wood habitats mapped reach 2,000 by the end of the year, but even more importantly we need more log pyramids for stag beetles. They can be built at any time of year, and you can find instructions on how to make one on our website www.stagbeetles.ptes.org. Thank you!

k Hooloc n gibbo

Max’s miles ‘My name is Max Kershaw, I’m nine years old and have always loved animals and walking. Because some animals are endangered, I just thought I could help animals by doing something that I enjoyed. I’ve always wanted to raise money for animals, and I thought it would be hard to do. I walked from Lynmouth to West Anstey Farm which is approximately 25 miles across the width of Exmoor National Park and raised £200. It took me all day, but I enjoyed it and I’m proud of my achievement and above all else raising money for the animals I love.’ We say a huge thank you to Max!

Just two of the logpiles (above) mad by PTES supporte e rs - and what they wi benefit, a stag beetll le (left). Wildlife World

OUR WORK WITH HEDGEHOGS

On e 12 Wildlife World

OUR WORK WITH HEDGEHOGS

n every

A decade ago, Hedgehog Street was launched on a public unaware of the plight of the UK’s favourite mammal – today there are more than 100,000 people involved in the campaign and special hedgehog highways up and down the country.

street ‘I

learned how to sex a hedgehog the other day, that wasn’t part of my retirement plan,’ remarks Clive Weston on a Zoom call from his home in Bristol. If you can see their tummy, he continues, it’s quite simple, but the difficulty is getting them to ‘unball’. In general, chips in Sophie Clark, who’s on the same call, it’s not recommended that most people try this because you need to pick them up and they find this stressful. Still, it’s the sort of interesting trivia that you might want to know if you’re really into hedgehogs. And Clive and Sophie – and Becky Smith, the third person I’m talking to – are really into hedgehogs. In October 2020, at a time when most people were worrying about when the covid pandemic would end, and whether they’d be able to spend Christmas with their family, they formed the BS3 Hedgehog Project under the

auspices of the Hedgehog Street initiative, which is run by PTES and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS). They printed 5,000 leaflets (with a professionally designed logo), which they distributed to 45 streets in their postcode, a large area of south-west Bristol that includes well-known places such as Ashton Gate (home to the city’s biggest football club), Bedminster and Victoria Park. The leaflets invited people to open up their gardens to hedgehogs, as recommended by Hedgehog Street. Residents were encouraged to create ‘hedgehog highways’ by putting holes in their fences or other boundaries and to make their gardens safe by removing dangers such as netting and to stop using slug pellets or pesticides. Hedgehog Street makes other recommendatons, too. Those keen to go further can manage their garden to

maximise invertebrate populations, providing natural food for hungry hogs or even put out supplementary food during periods of cold or dry weather when the hogs’ natural food sources – ground beetles, caterpillars, worms and slugs – are in short supply. Then there’s providing somewhere for them to nest – while natural features such as compost heaps or log piles are best because they also boost invertebrate numbers, building an artificial hedgehog house can be helpful (and fun to do). The BS3 Hedgehog Project also did the other really critical thing – they tried to persuade as many other people as possible to join the hedgehog crusade. In the end, they got 55 streets to sign up with 55 individual hedgehog champions. They have an active Facebook page where people share information

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OUR WORK WITH HEDGEHOGS

ABOVE: Becky Smith is a co-founder of Bristol’s BS3 Hedgehog Street project, along with Sophie Clark (left) – they have persuaded more than 50 people to sign up as hedgehog champions. LEFT: Making holes in fences to create Hedgehog Highways increases the area of habitat available. Add a special label to make sure they stay open. RIGHT: Want a hedgehog in your garden? Give them places to nest, sources of food and remove any dangers such as netting.

about hogs, post photos of animals they’ve seen or campaign on issues of wider significance for hedgehog conservation. Hedgehog Street has now been going for 10 years, and in that time has recruited more than 100,000 hedgehog champions who have logged more than 100,000 hedgehog sightings on the Big Hedgehog Map. Raising awareness about the plight of hedgehogs led to the Government amending the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), to include the recommendation that all housing developments include hedgehog highways as standard, and a petition calling on this to become a legal requirement has now been signed by more than one million people. PTES Chief Executive Jill Nelson says there have been other, less measurable Hedgehog Street: How it began The story of how Hedgehog Street came to be is interesting in itself. PTES and the BHPS were left a sizeable legacy by the natural history tv and radio producer Dilys Breese, who died in 2007. We decided to pool our resources’ and work together on commissioning research that would lead to greater understanding of what was happening to hedgehogs and how we could best help them. It led to greater cooperation between the two charities, and the idea for Hedgehog Street was born. 14 Wildlife World

impacts of Hedgehog Street. ‘There has been a huge change in people’s awareness over the past 10 years,’ she says. ‘We’ve really hammered away at the press, and had loads of coverage for hedgehogs, and mostly people are getting the message that hedgehogs are declining and need our help and, because they are such a popular animal, they care.’ And as the latest research suggests, urban populations are showing signs of stabilising and – in some places – maybe even beginning to grow. The Bristol hedgehog champions certainly believe they are doing better now than they were. Clive Weston says he’s lived in his house for 30 years. ‘When I first moved in, I used to see hedgehogs, and then I didn’t see one for a good 25 years. But more recently, I spotted two, it must have been a female and her hoglet, and I thought, that’s brilliant, what can I do to encourage more of them in our area?’ Sadly, the plight of rural hedgehogs shows little sign of being resolved, says Jill Nelson, so there’s still a lot of work to do to understand what’s going on and what can be done to reverse declines there. One key piece of research confirmed that hedgehog territories are much larger than previously imagined. Though not territorial, hedgehogs have somewhere between 10-20 hectares they like to call home, and cover an average of 2km every night as they forage. A male hedgehog in

the breeding season may walk 3km in search of females. So, in urban and suburban areas, anything – such as a garden fence – that stops their nocturnal wanderings reduces the habitat available to them, thereby limiting their food supply or the ability of males and females to find each other and reproduce. It’s not just concerned members of the public who have been converted to helping hogs by Hedgehog Street. ‘We are now regularly talking to developers, fencing manufacturers and councils, and those doors weren’t open before,’ says Jill Nelson. ‘And now we don’t have to explain the problem at length to them, they mostly understand straight away.’ New research funded by PTES and BHPS (see box, ‘Hedgehog Highways: How we know they really do work’, opposite) is suggesting that hedgehog highways have a positive effect. Nicola Simpson, urban wildlife manager for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, investigated their impact over a two-year period, and logged a nearly 40 per cent increase in hedgehog sightings in gardens in Gloucester and Cheltenham after highways were created. Encouraging local people to participate in the research, they also recorded a 20 per cent increase in the number of access points. Both of these are really encouraging results, says Simpson. ‘People love hedgehogs and wanted to get involved,’ she says. ‘It was pretty simple for them to use

OUR WORK WITH HEDGEHOGS

the footprint tunnels, which was how we asked them to monitor the hedgehogs. People don’t have to put holes in their fences if they don’t want to. They can dig a tunnel underneath them instead. And we were happy to help people if necessary.’ Despite all the new things we’ve found out about hedgehogs in recent years, there’s still plenty we don’t know – how many there are in Britain, for example. Rural populations have probably halved since the millennium, and urban ones have declined by a third. The population in 1995 was estimated at around 1.5 million. As well as doing their bit for hedgehogs, the Bristol hedgehog champions also point out the benefits of their project on community cohesion, too. ‘It’s given me the confidence to talk to my neighbours about having hoglets in the garden, and it’s helped me connect with them,’ says Sophie Clark. It helps that her area of Bristol was already friendly and people living on the same street already knew each other, she adds. Clive Weston agrees, but warns that it’s a long-term process. ‘I wouldn’t like to give the impression that it’s easy, that you just flick a switch and put a few leaflets through doors and people automatically start putting holes in fences,’ he says. Still, if connecting hedgehogs also makes you feel more connected with neighbours, that can only be a good thing for them and us. What are you waiting for? ⚫

Hedgehog Highways: What to do and why ►O ne of the big ideas to come out of the Hedgehog Street is hedgehog highways. This is a way of making sure that hedgehogs, especially those living in urban and suburban habitats, can move freely throughout the habitat they need in order to feed, reproduce and find shelter. ►R esearch has shown that hedgehogs roam over surprisingly large areas – their home ranges are 10-20 hectares in size, and that’s the equivalent of roughly 14-28 football pitches. A single hedgehog roams an average of 2km a night, a male in the breeding season up to 3km. ► I mpenetrable fencing or solid walls around gardens have reduced the ability of hedgehogs to roam, making it hard for them to find food or a mate. Putting holes – 13cm by 13cm is regarded as ample for a hedgehog to pass through – in these fences (or digging underneath a wall) extends the available habitat. The more people in an area who do this, the greater the benefit for hedgehogs. ►A n even better solution would be to take out the wall or fence and plant a hedge instead – hedgehogs could still come and go, but the hedge would also provide food, shelter and a route in and out of your garden.

Find out more www.hedgehogstreet.org

Wildlife World 15

PTES IN ACTION

Conservation Partnerships

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Our conservation partners around the world managed to work during the past year, despite the challenges thrown at them by the pandemic. Conservation Research Manager Nida Al-Fulaij reports on the latest developments from these projects and how rare species are benefiting.

Slow lorises, Java Anna Nekaris, Little Project Fireface

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urgent need for a a global transition to sustainable and wildlife-friendly farming systems that protect ecosystems and are also socially and economically fair. To achieve that transition, we need more evidence that organic and lowimpact farming is better for wildlife, so it’s great news that the Little Fireface Project has done a proper assessment on its work. The team studied butterflies on 42 coffee farms in West Java – some of them used organic methods and some didn’t. A total of 54 butterfly species were seen, but those farms that didn’t use chemicals and had more shade trees (which provide a more diverse habitat) had a greater abundance and diversity of species. Coffee farming is becoming ever more popular in Indonesia, and this study shows that farming in the right way is critical to protect the country’s fragile ecosystems and the wildlife that depends on them. Civets – small carnivores that also live in Anna’s study area – are another species impacted by coffee farming. They also play a vital role in eating and dispersing seeds. The team want to learn more about their behaviour and the benefits they can bring to the farmers. In the coming months, Little Fireface Project staff Katey and Tungga will be putting GPS and radio collars on civets to understand more about their lives. They’re working at a sister field site in Kemuning with newly trained trackers Mas Pi’i, Mas Kunthing and Mas Heri. We’re looking forward to hearing what they find out and will share any news in the next update. ⚫

offee harvesting is carried out twice a year in Cipaganti in West Java, Indonesia, where Anna Nekaris and her team at the Little Fireface Project are based. Coffee cherries – the green beans – are collected by the farmers, separated and processed using different methods to produce several types of coffee. This coffee is special. It’s delicious but – equally importantly – the farmers who produce it have come together and agreed to use organic methods to ensure that their smallholdings not only provide them with a livelihood but also still act as habitat for wildlife, including slow lorises. So much of our biodiversity is under threat, and much of that threat comes from the way we farm our land. Food needs to be produced but it cannot be at the expense of our wildlife. There’s an

Lions, Tanzania Amy Dickman, Ruaha Carnivore Project

ion Defenders play a critical role in the Ruaha landscape, helping to prevent conflict between herders and predators. They’re responsible for many activities, including reinforcing traditional livestock enclosures and finding lost livestock. They also monitor village land for any evidence of carnivore activity and, if they find any signs, they warn pastoralists not to graze in certain areas to keep their animals safe. Pastoralists are always on the move, and so it’s important for Amy Dickman and her team to expand their coverage if they identify new areas of conflict. In the past few months, they’ve expanded their reach to the village of Magbomwe with a new Lion Defender, Wiro Kidiko (pictured above). Magombwe village has seen an increase in conflict due to seasonal movements of pastoralists, and we hope that having Wiro in place will help to protect livestock and prevent conflict between the pastoralists and carnivores. ⚫

PTES IN ACTION

Giant otters, Peru Adi Barocas, Giant Otter Conservation Project

Snow leopards, Mongolia, Bayarjargal (Bayara) Agvaantseren Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation

very year, Bayara Agvaantseren and her team at the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation in Mongolia carry out a population survey using remote cameras. Community rangers put out 40 camera traps last autumn across a staggering 2,000km2. Now, they’ve been through the images they captured and have identified 24 individual adult snow leopards. Twenty-one of the 22 adults photographed in 2019 were snapped again in 2020. This is fantastic, showing that there’s a high survival rate for these big cats. Bayara was also pleased to confirm that they identified three new adults, including one female, who they named Akka, spotted with two subadult cubs. They were seen in the north-eastern mountains of Tost where fewer cameras are generally set up. This may explain why Akka has not previously been caught on camera. They were also delighted to capture images of Nachin Devee, a male snow leopard that the team collared in April 2017. At 10 years old, Nachin Devee is thought to be the oldest known wild male snow leopard in the world! ⚫

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Gold mining can affect giant otters by destroying the banks of the rivers and lakes they inhabit, by driving declines in populations of the fish they rely on for food and by polluting their aquatic environment with mercury. Once travel bans are lifted, it will be important to assess giant otter and fish numbers in the project’s oxbow lakes. We hope Adi can return to the field soon and continue to monitor the biodiversity and health of these sensitive aquatic ecosystems. ⚫

di Barocas reports that the situation in Peru, where he’s working on giant otters, has not been great. Satellite data from the last year suggest that in several areas of the Peruvian Amazon, gold-mining activities have increased. In neighbouring Brazil, encouraged by lenient government regulations, gold mining increased abruptly since the onset of the pandemic, accompanied by land invasions and violence towards local indigenous people.

Male giant otters can grow up to 1 .7m long, making them the largest member of the we asel family

Persian leopards, Iran Mohammad Farhadinia, Future4Leopards

ver the past 18 months, many of us had to slow down and stay at home. Others ended up busier than ever. Mohammad Farhadinia’s team, working in the mountains of Iran, was certainly busy. ‘Our conservation work could not afford to pause,’ Mohammad told us in an email. ‘Our team carried out 12 expeditions to six reserves in different parts of Iran where leopards exist. Working closely with rangers and communities, it was important to continue as usual in order to save leopards and their habitats. All our team members in Iran got covid-19, but thankfully they all recovered and were able to carry on their work.’ Mohammad relayed how grateful to PTES he and his team are. ‘Without your help, we couldn’t have carried out this vital work during a period of such uncertainty and fear,’ he said. ⚫

RIGHT: Future4Leopards rangers carried on working despite the pandemic.

Wildlife World

PTES IN ACTION

Roe study The classic study of roe deer in the New Forest, written by John Fawcett and published by PTES, is just as relevant today as it was in 2003. Forestry Commission Male roe deer Capreolus eventually agreed in capreolus have its Deer Management distinctive antlers. Strategy 2014-20 that the findings in New Forest Roe Deer would form ‘the basis for proposed management, and show that there is no case for a numerical cull of roe in the New Forest.’ Alongside its success in reforming management practice, New Forest Roe Deer is mostly a report on 12 years of intensive research by the author, analysing annual cycles, ranging behaviour and social relationships. Previous published research had justifiably concentrated on statistical analyses but there was a need for a complementary in-depth study. John Fawcett’s work is based on observations on identified individuals, including some monitored for continuous periods of up to eight years throughout this 12-year study. ⚫

n 2003, PTES published New Forest Roe Deer by John Fawcett when this species, although thriving elsewhere, was particularly vulnerable in the New Forest. Management of roe deer by the Forestry Commission had not been well-informed until publication of research initially in six articles in Deer, the magazine of the British Deer Society, between 2001 and 2003. The articles were revised in this attractive book, essential for researchers of roe deer and an engrossing read for those with wider interests. In contrast to prolific and expanding roe deer populations elsewhere, in the New Forest pressures are intense. The publication provides an intimate portrait of the lives of a particular population of roe deer, which is in need of special care and attention. Following prolonged discussion while heavy roe deer shooting continued, the

New Forest Roe Deer is a fascinating 62-page read. Copies available on request free of charge, or download at https://bit.ly/3CZBOF0 In part exacerbated by the challenges of working at home during the pandemic, recent enquirers about this book were incorrectly informed that it was unavailable. We apologise for this misleading error.

Return of a woodland icon With the latest release of dormice in northern England, PTES has reached the amazing milestone of reintroducing more than 1,000 individuals back into the wild.

TES has helped bring dormice back to a protected area of north-west Lancashire and south Cumbria for the first time in several decades. Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an area of ancient woodlands, limestone pavements, pastures and wetlands. Thirty dormice have been released into one of its woodlands managed by Natural England. PTES has now reintroduced more than 1,000 dormice into the wild in total. ‘This is a huge moment for hazel dormice in Lancashire, because there are no known populations currently living there,’ said Dormouse and Training Officer, Ian White. This reintroduction was carried out in partnership with Back on Our Map, a National Lottery-funded initiative of the University of Cumbria, Natural England, ZSL and the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group. According to Natural

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England’s Jim Turner, the woodlands in the area declined in quality after the end of World War II as a result of increasing deer numbers and a decline in management activities such as coppicing, and that is probably why dormice disappeared.

Thankfully, in recent decades, coppicing has resumed and there’s been an increase in tree cover. ‘Now the woodlands are amazing habitat that are suitable for dormice,’ Turner says. The dormice were released into their new home in mid-June. They were given supplementary food for a few weeks, allowing them time to adapt. By September, Turner and volunteers had already carried out two nestbox surveys. In August, as well as finding 10 of the adults that were released, there were also a total of 13 young. Footprint tunnels suggest the dormice are dispersing well. A second reintroduction will take place next year. Dormice are a vital flagship species, promoting the benefits of good woodland management for ground flora, invertebrates and birds, Turner believes. ‘And they should be here,’ he adds. ‘We’re really excited to have them back.’ ⚫

PTES IN ACTION

Hedge of heaven Hedges are vital reservoirs for wildlife, but can easily be lost if they aren’t managed properly – our new app helps farmers and landowners do that.

onservation projects that focus on species, as opposed to habitat, protection can often seem more glitzy. Saving water voles sounds more exciting than restoring a wildflower meadow. But of course habitats are just as important as the wildlife that inhabits them. And that’s why PTES puts so much effort into its hedge conservation work. Hedges provide somewhere to live and forage for a huge variety of animals, from our 18 species of bat, to many butterflies. So what began with the Great British Hedgerow Survey has now grown an extra branch – our Healthy Hedgerows app, which is one of the products of the Close the Gap programme, funded by the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The app is aimed at farmers, other landowners and land managers and it gives them easy to implement advice on how to bring their hedges back to pristine condition. Our key habitats project officer, Megan Gimber, explains more. ‘The quality and structure of hedgerows will deteriorate if they’re managed in the same way for long periods of time, and will eventually be lost. The best way to prevent this is by managing

hedges according to their lifecycle, which may include more sensitive trimming, periods of non-intervention and, in time, rejuvenation.’ As Megan explains, our hedges have been around since the Bronze Age (more than 5,000 years ago). Historically they were created when people first started to clear woodland to make fields to establish agriculture. Strips of woodland were left to distinguish between two fields, and many of these are left today as parish boundaries. In the intervening millennia, there have been periods of hedgerow planting and periods of loss. The Romans planted hedges, and the Enclosures Act in the mid-18th century also prompted a new wave of hedge-planting. But hedges were lost during the Napoleanic Wars, and governments incentivised farmers to rip them out following the end of World War II – an estimated 100,000km of hedges were lost in this way over a 50-year period. And yet many survived. Megan says it’s amazing to realise that this is down to an unbroken chain of care, management and periodic rejuvenation. Hedges are essentially made immortal by the skills and

management passed from farmer to farmer and generation to generation. ‘The privilege of caring for them, and the responsibility of ensuring they have a healthy future now falls to us, and they will only survive if we offer them similar care going forward,’ she says. ‘Thankfully, it’s becoming clear how valuable hedgerows can be in these times of biodiversity loss and climate change, and there’s renewed interest all over the country in making sure hedges are as healthy as they can be. ⚫

Find out more www.ptes.org/hedgerow

How the app works ►T ell the app various facts – how long, wide and high your hedge is, how many individual trees it hosts and so on. ►T he app then tells you the best management options for your hedge – whether it needs to be laid or coppiced, for example. ►A nd some further advice on how to carry out the recommended actions.

Wildlife World 19

PTES IN ACTION

Bear necessities Remote camera-traps are uncovering the food preferences of South America’s only bear and its importance to the health of critical ecosystems.

M ABOVE: Camera traps are a brilliant way to find out more about wildlife that is otherwise elusive and hard to see. This is certainly true of Andean bears, which are naturally wary of people. It’s also true of pumas, the second largest feline found in South America (after jaguars), which are persecuted by humans because of their perceived threat to livestock. Other wildlife found on the reserve includes tapirs, toucans, frogs and hummingbirds.

ichael Bond may not have known much about Andean bear ecology when he dreamt up his most famous creation, Paddington, who came to Britain from “Darkest Peru”. But he did hit upon a vein of truth with the fictional bear’s appetite for marmalade sandwiches. Though they prefer it fresh not preserved, real Andean (or spectacled) bears love fruit, and they are responsible for dispersing the seeds of 300 plant species in the cloud forests and high altitude moorlands of South America. This makes bears an umbrella species because they are critical to the ongoing health and well-being of these habitats – if seeds aren’t dispersed, forests won’t regenerate. That’s why Rainforest Concern – with support from PTES – has spent the last couple of years monitoring the bears in its La Neblina Reserve in western Ecuador so

they can better understand their behaviour and ecological role. Remote camera traps have revealed some fascinating insights into the bears’ lives. Their varied diet includes bromeliads (plants endemic to the Americas that have a sweet nutritious heart), orchids, wild avocados, figs, blueberry-like fruits called mortiños, the buds, stems and tender leaves of other plants and even some types of bamboo. And in total, they identified 17 individuals, of which 13 were adults. According to Rainforest Concern’s Sarah Fraser, they’re also using the cameras to identify those parts of the reserve where there is the potential for conflict between bears and local farmers. ‘We don’t want to fence off the reserve, but we do want to stop cattle coming into it and being killed by the bears,’ she says. ‘We want to talk to farmers about how they can stop this from happening.’ When Rainforest Concern first set up La Neblina in 2003, it covered 1,000 hectares – today it’s grown to more than double that, and another important discovery from the camera traps is that the bears are using some of the corridor areas linking different parts of the reserve. ‘It shows the corridors are working,’ Fraser adds. ‘It’s nice to have the data to confirm that we’re going in the right direction.’ ⚫ ►A ndean bears are only found in South

America, from Venezuela in the north following the Andean mountain chain through Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and as far south as Bolivia. ► The IUCN reports their presence also in northern Argentina, but this is likely to be vagrant individuals rather than a resident population. ► They are medium-sized bears – smaller than black, brown or polar bears, with adult males weighing about 100kg. ► Their scientific name is Tremarctos ornatus – the only species in the Tremarctos genus.

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PTES IN ACTION

The comeback canids

Asiatic wild dogs are returning to the Nepalese Himalayas – but help is needed to make sure they can live alongside local people.

Ghimirey says herders still worry about the threat to their livestock from the return of wild dogs. To assuage their fears, the group is spending the next year holding meetings with them, other local people and schoolchildren to explain the importance of wild dogs in the local ecosystem. ‘We’ll also start a livestock insurance scheme to make sure that people don’t retaliate and kill these dogs where there are cases of livestock predation,’ he says. Other planned actions include trying to better understand the movements and activities of the wild dogs using remote camera traps and reducing livestock predation through the use of fox lights in corrals.

Asiatic wild dogs hunt mainly deer and other ungulates, such as wild boar, in packs of between five and ten individuals (though groups of 25 have been recorded). Ghimirey believes there’s a good prey base within the Annapurna Conservation Area to support them. ‘With preventative and curative measures against livestock depredation, I’m sure that people will be more than happy to coexist with them,’ he says. ⚫

►T he Asiatic wild dog Cuon

alpinus is a medium-sized canid, with adults weighing on average about 15kg – somewhat smaller than an African wild dog. ► They have a similar social structure to African wild dogs, hunting prey considerably larger than themselves in packs.

hey’re one of the world’s rarest and most threatened large carnivores, with a total population of only 1,000-2,000 adults thanks to ongoing habitat loss and persecution from livestock farmers. And though widely distributed from western India to Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, they are classified as Endangered by the world’s conservation group, the IUCN. Asiatic wild dogs are known in Nepal as bwaanso, ban kukur or in the local Gurung language, pyaun, and in India by the name dholes. And in the Annapurna Conservation Area, a vast area of the Himalayas covering more than 7,600km2 (that’s roughly three times the size of the Lake District), they’re making a comeback. PTES is working with a local conservation group, Friends of Nature, to make sure the returning predators are accepted by local people and to ensure their continued survival. Friends of Nature director Yadav

Sleepy heads

Pioneering research into Roach’s mouse-tailed dormice reveals they like more than the occasional 40 winks, but many questions remain.

Even for a dormouse, they say, this is unusual behaviour, especially bearing in mind the hot Mediterranean climate, with daytime temperatures in September and October averaging 25-33˚C . In the second year, they documented the dormice breeding for the first time ever, with three litters of eight, five and four young. Now Nedyalkov wants to extend his research to other parts of Bulgaria to see if there are populations elsewhere – he’s aware of potentially good habitat close to Sakar Mountain and the nearby Eastern Rhodopes. ‘Thanks to PTES, we were able to get crucial biological data for the species,’ Nedyalkov says. ‘It’s the first-ever systematic research on Roach’s mouse-tailed dormice. They are quite peculiar animals, and different – and not only in appearance – from other European dormice. There are still many more questions than answers.’ ⚫

Dormouse details Roach’s mouse-tailed dormice are only found in Bulgaria, Turkey and (possibly) Greece. They live in habitat of semi-open grasslands with shrubs such as blackthorn, Jerusalem thorn and trees such as oaks and pear trees. It’s not known what their diet consists of - work is ongoing to find this out.

onitoring, funded by PTES, has uncovered some of the secrets of one of Europe’s rarest mammals. Roach’s mouse-tailed dormice were rediscovered in Bulgaria in 2017, having not been seen for nearly 40 years. Since then, Nedko Nedyalkov and colleagues from the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History have spent two field seasons monitoring the only known population in the country. During that time (in 2019 and 2020), the team put up nestboxes around Sakar Mountain in southeast Bulgaria, along with live traps and remote cameras. As a result, they identified 35 individual dormice. The camera trap footage gave the researchers critical data about the ecology and biology of the dormouse. ‘It seems this is a lazy dormouse,’ they report. ‘It’s active for only four months of the year, between May and August.’

Wildlife World 21

HOW YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Thanks to you We like to take the opportunity every time we send out our magazine to say thank you to you, our supporters, who make this work possible. People are really important to us at PTES – without our supporters, our scientists and volunteers, none of this work would be achievable. Together, we protect so much wildlife and we’re so grateful to every one of you. All aboard the Grevy train! You may remember the beautiful Grevy’s zebras from the front cover of the last edition of Wildlife World. Our colleague, Ali Hussein, is protecting the isolated herds in Eastern Kenya.

Home is where the habitat is We want to thank all our wildlife-friendly gardeners who’ve been busy giving their garden residents the homes they need to survive. PTES supporter, Amanda, has been particularly busy adding various habitats to her garden such as a pond, log pile, hedgehog house and even a hibernaculum for reptiles and amphibians. ‘Ever since I can remember I’ve loved being in the garden surrounded by flowers, plants, wildlife and nature. My top gardening tip to make your garden wildlife friendly would be to add as many different habitats as possible to provide food and shelter for a variety of species.’ Keep up the amazing work, Amanda! ⚫

Ali wrote to update us on recent developments: ‘Our Grevy’s zebra survey has seen a lot of progress, with more new sightings and several community engagement meetings. We have taken geo-tagged photos of individuals encountered to estimate numbers. We have already discovered where Grevy’s zebras concentrate and plans for the construction of a breeding sanctuary in Garissa are ongoing.’ Thank you to everyone who supported Ali’s work by donating to our zebra appeal. ⚫

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Clothes to wear and care A warm welcome to our newest corporate partner, clothing company Big Wild Thought. Big Wild Thought is a sustainable clothing and accessories brand that was founded in 2018 by two designers, Laura and Liam. With a passion for wildlife and the environment, they decided to put their skills together to create clothes that people can ‘wear and care’ at the same time. For each sale of their Siamese crocodile and ring-tailed lemur designs, Big Wild Thought kindly donates 10% to PTES. Check out their range at bigwildthought.co.uk ⚫ 22 Wildlife World

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Inspiring solutions for garden wildlife

HOW YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Helping the next generation We’re so grateful to our major donors who support numerous aspects of our work, most notably our Internship Programme. Our unique Internship Programme aims to provide graduates with opportunities to gain the vital experience they need to start their conservation careers. Successful applicants are awarded grants of up to £5,000 to carry out worthwhile conservation projects, in association with an academic institution or conservation NGO, enabling them to gain extra skills in the lab and in the field that will strengthen their employment prospects within the conservation world. But none of this could happen without the help of our dedicated group of major donors. This year, we piloted a virtual Internship Programme event, which saw three of our interns presenting their projects to a group of donors who were funding it. The event was a resounding success and saw donors taking part in a lively Q&A session with the interns about each of their projects. Many thanks again for helping us to make this programme Wild for wildcats a reality. ⚫

PTES intern Alex Marshall is investigating how climate change affects small heath butterflies and Claudia Afeltra is cataloguing bottlenose dolphins.off the coast of Wales.

Give something back with wildlife-friendly cosmetics Our new partner, Barry M, is the UK’s leading cruelty-free, vegan make-up brand. It launched its WILDLIFE® range in 2019 to give back to nature. To date, Barry M WILDLIFE products have focused on international endangered animals, but now they’ve just come up with a new range linked to some of the most important yet overlooked British species – insects. We’re very excited to announce the launch of three new Barry M PTES WILDLIFE eyeshadow palettes, created to highlight the plight of British bees, butterflies and beetles. For each palette sold, Barry M will donate 20% of net profits to support our vital conservation work. Thank you, Barry M! They will be available for purchase at the end of October. Check for updates on the Barry M website www.BarryM.com/ WILDLIFE ⚫

We had a wonderful response to our wildcat appeal earlier in the year. Thank you to everyone who became part of the project led by Saving Wildcats by helping to raise a whopping £35,000 and a further £6,000 in Gift Aid.

Several cats are now at the Conservation Breeding for Release centre and have settled in well. Each of the cats has a distinctive personality. Droma, a one-year-old female, is quite playful and enthusiastic about nearly everything, and new arrival Margaret is apparently very chatty! We’re really looking forward to seeing how the wildcats are getting on and how many kittens are born next spring. For the moment, the team is scoping out good release sites, working with the community to manage the threats from feral and domestic cats, and preparing wildcats for release by developing their natural behaviours and reducing their habituation to human presence. Thanks to everyone for helping to get more wildcats into the wild. ⚫

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Looking more exotic than a dancer at the Rio festival, golden langurs are one of those species that make you wonder – how can an animal this spectacular have evolved through natural selection? However it came to be, golden langurs are believed to be one of the most threatened primates in the world, and need urgent conservation action to reverse alarming declines. PTES is working with scientists from the Primate Research Centre in Assam, in north-east India, one of only two areas where the langurs are still found (the other is southern Bhutan) to get more data on how they are doing and what needs to be done to allow their numbers to rebound. It looks as if habitat fragmentation is having a major impact, and our partners are working with the Forest Department to give greater protection to where the langurs need it most, giving them a golden chance of sustained survival. Thank you.

people’s trust for endangered species