Emma Pritchard meets Jim Jones, Surrey Wildlife Trust Living Landscapes manager and dormice expert
With its large eyes and fluffy tail, the hazel dormouse is one of our most endearing – and iconic – mammals. They are also one of those most at risk.
Dormice need suitable, properly managed woodland and scrub if they are to thrive. Such habitats are in decline, which is why Surrey Woodland Trust is increasing its monitoring of the county’s woodlands. The ‘Woodlands For Dormice’ project will enable the team to set up 400 new dormouse nest boxes at selected sites. The Trust also works with volunteers – our ‘Hedgerow Heroes’ – to conserve and restore these precious wildlife corridors.
Surrey is one of the 32 remaining counties in which the species continues to survive. Hazel dormice numbers have been decreasing since 1885 and, in the past 20 years alone, have fallen by a third, nationwide.
April sees the dormouse active again, following its winter hibernation. They feast on early buds, flowers and small insects, before mating in the summer and, following a gestation of just three weeks, giving birth to litters in July or August.
Due to their fragility, dormice are a protected species, which means you need a special license to handle them. The public can help dormice populations by volunteering for the Trust, and also treating themselves to a pint of our nutty, biscuit flavoured ‘Dormouse Beer’, a traditional ale, brewed by the Tillingbourne Brewery, Shere. A proportion of every sale will go directly to supporting the monitoring of dormice on our reserves. Cheers! ∼
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