Mission to save baby dormice

A team from Wildwood are on a mission to help prevent one of Britain’s most endangered species from becoming extinct.

They are scouring Kent’s woodland to find baby hazel dormice and save them from the cold winter weather.

Babies as young as six days old and as small as a fingertip are being rescued by a group from the Wildwood Trust and brought into the warmth for feeding.

If they are not found in the woodland, the youngsters from the second litter of the year face an almost certain death.

Senior conservation officer Hazel Ryan said: “We work tirelessly to protect these animals and are proud that we play such a major role to reintroduce the hazel dormouse back to areas where they have become extinct.

“It is now classed as extremely vulnerable to extinction – but through projects such as this we hope to tip the balance back in favour of the dormouse.”

After being hand-reared, the dormice will go into Wildwood’s breeding programme, with their offspring being reintroduced to woods across the UK where they have become extinct.

It is thought the number of dormice in Britain has declined by more than a third since 2000.

A team from Wildwood are on a mission to help prevent hazel dormice from becoming extinct