British mammals face extinction

At least one in five British mammals is at high risk of extinction in the face of threats such as disease and loss of their natural habitat, a study has found.

Red squirrels, wildcats and grey long-eared bats are among the species which face severe threats to their survival, the first major review of British mammals for more than 20 years revealed.

Populations of nine species, including hedgehogs, water voles, hazel dormice and even rabbits, have declined in the last 20 years, the study of 58 native, “naturalised”, introduced and reintroduced species showed.

Hedgehog numbers have fallen by two-thirds since the previous estimate in 1995, while red squirrels have also suffered marked declines and water vole populations are thought to be just a 10th of what they were in the 1990s. And there is just one known greater mouse-eared bat in Britain.