Dormouse under threat as numbers fall by 72%

WITH its golden fur and large black eyes, it was once a common sight in English hedgerows.

But the dormouse is on the brink of becoming an endangered species with numbers falling by almost three- quarters in the past 20 years.

Warmer, wetter weather and the loss of its woodland habitat are thought to be to blame.

Experts say the decline in Britain’s hazel dormouse population has been far more rapid than previously believed.

A University of Exeter study that analysed data from 400 sites found that numbers of the 4in- long rodents fell by 72 per cent between 1993 and 2014 and 47 per cent in the past decade. Lead author Cecily Goodwin said: ‘Dormice are declining despite strict protection and widespread efforts to conserve one of Britain’s most endearing woodland mammals.

‘They are declining to such an extent that a precautionary approach would classify dormice as “endangered” in the UK.’

In the 19th century, when the dormouse famously featured in Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, it was found in 49 English counties but now lives in only 32.

Nida Al Fulaij, from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, said of the study findings: ‘The declines highlighted in this paper are alarming and there is an urgent need to review conservation of hazel dormice to protect this much-loved species.’

The organisation says dormice are in decline due to the removal of hedgerows – as farming intensified after the Second World War – and loss of woodland.

Traditional coppicing, the cutting back of trees and shrubs to ground level, is in decline along with tree-felling. As a result, wood- land features fewer open spaces and the layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy, which provides vital food and nesting sites, is smaller.

Wetter seasons are believed to play an increasing part. When it rains, dormice undergo periods of torpor during which they are less likely to feed and mate.

The study, published in the journal Mammal Review, suggests hazel dormice should be included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species. Professor Robbie McDonald, who led the study, said: ‘Dormice face a range of problems – climate change and habitat loss are likely important, but we think that woodland management could also be key.’