Watch For Water Voles
Among many wildlife conser vation activities, People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) runs vital sur veys to monitor populations of endangered British wildlife, such as hedgehogs, dormice, stage beetles – and water voles.
“Water voles are one of the most rapidly declining British mammals ever,” explains Henrietta Pringle, Key Species Monitoring and Data Officer for PTES. “Sur veys conducted back in the 1990s showed that they had declined by around 90% within a decade and since then they have disappeared from about 23% of UK locations.
“As herbivores, they eat quite a bit of vegetation on the riverbanks, where they build extensive burrow systems. But intensifying agriculture and increasing numbers of livestock is actually damaging this vegetation and causing loss to their habitat. The problem is compounded by building development and the concreting of some riverbanks and also predator y American mink, a non-native species which is thriving after being introduced in Britain decades ago. Pollution also damages the vegetation water voles rely on and it gets into the water ways, damaging the ecosystem.
“Through our National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, volunteers go and sur vey a stretch of water way between April 15 and June 15 to look for signs of water voles. They might be lucky enough to see them, or more likely hear them as they dive into the water with a characteristic ‘plop’ sound. There are some key signs to look for. When water voles eat, they bite the vegetation at a cer tain angle, for example, and they also like to sit at the same spot and eat, leaving trampled patches behind.
“Volunteers submit their sur vey findings online so that we can identify water vole locations and monitor population trends, impor tant data that is shared with other conservation organisations.
“You don’t need previous experience to do these sur veys and we’d welcome new volunteer sur veyors. Sign up via www.ptes.org/watervoles, and you’ll receive a pack of instructions and all the information you need.
“There has never been a better time to act to save our wildlife. The decline in water voles is mostly through human action, so we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure that ‘Ratty’ from Wind in the Willows is not lost for good.”