Beale Park bid to boost dormice population
STAFF at Beale Park have partnered with the Berkshire Mammal Group to monitor the growth of the on-site dormouse population.
Fifty nest boxes are to be installed on the premises of the popular Lower Basildon-based park and nature facility.
It is hoped that these will be used by the dormice as shelter in the summer months, encouraging settlement locally.
Dormice – an indigenous species – are recognised as rare and vulnerable in the UK.
This is the result of human destruction of their territory, and of their unique living conditions.
Paul Betchley, deputy curator at the park, said: “Dormice are an important link in the biodiversity of the natural world as part of the food chain.
“We are delighted to be working alongside the Berkshire Mammal Group and hope that
over the next few years we will see the population double here in West Berkshire.”
Dr Amanda Lloyd, dormouse officer for the Berkshire Mammal Group, said she was excited to be collaborating with
Beale Park on the project.
“The nest boxes provide extra nesting space for any resident dormice,” she said.
“Land management of the park’s woods and hedgerows with dormice in mind will not only aid this declining and rare mammal, but it will provide benefits to a whole host of other species.”
Christine Doyle, marketing and public relations manager at Beale Park, said: “Distinctively, dormice lack a caecum, meaning they are unable to digest green material such as leaves.
“Therefore, they are heavily reliant on berries, flowers, pollen and insects throughout their active season.
“They are nocturnal and spend almost all of their time in the branches of trees during the summer, rarely coming down to the ground.
“When conditions are cold or wet, or if food is scarce, dormice curl up into a ball and go into a state similar to hibernation for a short time.
“Between October and May, dormice hibernate in nests beneath the leaf litter on the forest floor or in the base of hedgerows.”