This week over 20 rare Hazel Dormice have been reintroduced into a woodland location in Leicestershire. More...

The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), the Bradgate Park Trust, Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, Leicestershire & Rutland Mammal Group, the National Forest and Twycross Zoo have worked together to identify a suitable site for the release. This landmark conservation effort is part of ongoing work to save Hazel Dormice, which have declined nationally by 70% since 2000. Dormice have been lost from 20 English counties since Victorian times and are categorised as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of British Mammals. This reintroduction builds on the success of the nearby 2023 dormouse reintroduction at NT Calke Abbey which saw 38 dormice return to the National Forest for the very first time. This second reintroduction is a vital step forward for dormouse recovery nationally and regionally, which will one day form part of a wider population spanning the whole forest. 

PTES dormouse reintroductions are part of Natural England's Species Recovery Programme. The wider partnership involves crucial work by the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group whose members, including Wildwood Trust, raise captive-bred dormice ready for release. The dormice then travel to Paignton Zoo, ZSL, and this year Twycross Zoo, to undergo an eight-week quarantine period. During their stay each dormouse gets a full nose-to-tail health check by wildlife vets to make sure only healthy dormice are released and that there is no risk of them transferring diseases or non-native parasites to other local wildlife. Once they are given a clean bill of health, they are taken to their new woodland home to be released. During the release day, the dormice, in their nest boxes, are placed in larger mesh cages filled with foliage, buds, berries, nuts and water where they acclimatise to their new surroundings. Volunteers will then carry out daily checks and top up their food and water, and after 10 days a final health check takes place. After this, the cage doors are opened to allow the dormice to explore the wider woodland. In time they will start to breed and disperse into new woodland and hedge areas, and the mesh cages will be removed. 

To find out more about PTES dormouse conservation work, visit https://ptes.org/campaigns/dormice/ 

Photo: Matt Parkins