Thieves in prison as dormice released to freedom!

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Thieves in prison as dormice released to freedom – another outstanding success story for a Kent based wildlife charity

Despite the terrible theft of donations to a dormice appeal, conservationists are celebrating the release last week of sixteen rescued dormice from animals bred at Wildwood Trust, near Canterbury. Wildwood Conservation Officer, Katie Prior, who was on hand to assist with the release said: "Wildwood would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts, the hundreds of people who made donations to our dormouse appeal after the theft. This boost in donations has meant we can continue our vital conservation work to help save the hazel dormouse". "It is vital that we continue to release dormice to help them expand their range and bring hazel dormice back into areas where they once thrived." Supported by a team of conservation organisations including the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Paignton Zoo, Natural England and Nottinghamshire & Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust; Wildwood was on hand to assist in the release of sixteen dormice, bred at Wildwood, to the secret locations. Security camera footage at Wildwood caught the thieves on camera and thanks to a huge response from Wildwood supporters on social media, one of the three thieves were identified which, after police investigation, led to their imprisonment. Wildwood supporters rallied to the charity’s aid and replaced the stolen funds which helped this year’s reintroduction to take place. Watch the video below to see one of the dormice that has been released.

Wildwood Trust's Peter Smith said:  "We are so proud of our conservation team to have once again released so many dormice back to the wild following the shock of the robbery. It was fitting that the security system which caught the robbers, was originally acquired to record footage of baby dormice to help scientific research into their care and protection. Yet the same system, which had been relocated to the shop after upgrading the cameras for the dormice, caught the robbers red handed when they were stealing donations made to our baby dormouse appeal”. “Our security system was praised by the police for its high quality and was a vital part of the evidence that brought this prolific criminal to justice”. Over thirty of Wildwood’s supporters identified the robber from the security video and this then helped police with their inquiries. Wildwood supporters also rallied to their aid with a huge social media response that saw the CCTV footage viewed over 150,000 times, as word spread about the despicable crime. Watch the video to see footage of baby dormice filmed using the same camera that captured the burglary. Wildwood’s dedicated conservation team are the leading experts in breeding dormice for a national reintroduction programme, which has successfully bred more than 186 dormice and reintroduced them to woodlands where they have previously become extinct. Scientific evidence shows the perilous state of Britain’s dormice that, without our help, face almost certain extinction. Despite being one of our most endearing woodland mammals, its desperate plight has alarmed scientists and the situation is getting much worse, which is why this vital conservation work is so important. Each year Wildwood supplies captive-bred dormice for the release programme and as the studbook holder for the species, selects and pairs up the animals for release, thus ensuring the strongest genetic mix for future generations.

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Information on the Hazel Dormouse The hazel or common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is the only native species of dormouse found in Britain. Dormice are a predominantly woodland species, particularly associated with broad-leaved coppice. Dormice are a 'flagship species'; by managing habitat for dormice, a range of other species will benefit. They are also important as 'bio-indicators' as they are particularly sensitive to habitat and population fragmentation. Their presence should indicate that the area can sustain populations of other sensitive species. Over the last 100 years the hazel dormouse has declined in both numbers and distribution and is thought to have become extinct in about half its former distributional range. Once widespread over most of England and Wales, dormice have disappeared from many northern areas and are now mainly found in the southern counties, especially Kent, Sussex, Devon and Somerset. The total adult population is now thought to number about 45,000, distributed among a variety of widely fragmented sites. Even in optimal habitats, population densities are less than 10 adults per hectare. Although dormice are widely distributed in Wales, individual populations are small, scattered and isolated from each other. Hazel dormice have often been lost in the past as a result of inappropriate woodland management. They are an arboreal species and rarely descend to ground level apart from during hibernation. Factors associated with their decline include: Loss and fragmentation of ancient woodland, leaving isolated, non-viable populations, where even short distances form barriers to dispersal. Clearance of hedgerows, especially after the Second World War, dramatically reduced the number of habitat corridors that were used by dormice to travel between adjacent areas. A decline in traditional woodland management has led to a lack of coppicing areas or inappropriate coppice, which can greatly reduce species numbers. Coppiced areas should create a patchwork mosaic of different ages throughout the wood, with an adequate diversity of woody plant species, predominantly hazel coppice. Coppice in irregular patches is essential, to allow some shrubs to be flowering or fruiting whilst others are maturing. This is essential between April and November, when dormice are awake after hibernation. Damage to the scrub layer and coppice re-growth by large mammals such as deer and livestock, reduces the supply of particular foods necessary to dormice, as well suppressing natural regeneration. Climate change has had numerous effects on dormice, due to their specialised feeding requirements. During warm winters dormice awake from hibernation more often, wasting energy as their body temperature warms, causing an increase in metabolic rate. It is also thought that warmer autumns lead to fruit ripening at an earlier stage, sending dormice into hibernation earlier as their food reserves dwindle. Wetter summers prevent dormice from foraging. Grey squirrels, an introduced species, consume autumn nuts at an earlier stage, leaving none for the dormice.     CONTACT Wildwood Trust: +44(0)1227 712 111 Peter Smith: peter@wildwoodtrust.org or 07986 828229 Wildwood Trust, Herne Common, Herne Bay, Nr Canterbury, Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No. 1093702   FOLLOW US Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildwoodTrust Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust   ABOUT WILDWOOD Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002. Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more. As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK, Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife. Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct.

Wildwood Trust Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Wildwood Kent: 01227 712 111 Wildwood Devon: 01404 822 188 info@wildwoodtrust.org