Hazel Dormice Found in UK Nature Reserve Nesting Boxes After Facing Near Extinction Due to Climate Change

In the nesting boxes left by volunteers in a wildlife reserve in the UK, experts discovered a colony of hazel dormice. Climate change has put the species in danger of going extinct.

Hazel Dormice in a UK Nature Reserve

The Benfield Hill nature reserve's dense woods are where the hazel dormice colony was discovered.

Every month, volunteers inspect nesting boxes in the woods, and any dormice they find are weighed before being released.

Their decline has primarily been attributed to habitat loss and climate change.

According to experts, the hazel dormouse population has decreased by half since 2000, and it is now a protected species.

The Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group's chair, Sally Wadsworth, noted that the area had some dense woods and a wide variety of shrubs, including brambles and hawthorns. Wadsworth added that new trees have been planted to increase the site's biodiversity.

Dormouse colonies can be seen all along the Brighton bypass.

Hazel Dormice Behavior

According to Hazel Ryan of the Wildwood Trust in Kent, climate change and the disappearance of hedgerows and forests have both had an impact on the population of dormice.

She claimed that the construction of highways and housing developments had broken up their habitats.

According to Ryan, the species depends on pleasant summers with little rain so they can go foraging for food and pleasant winters so they can hibernate. Ryan noted that there will soon be warmer winters and windier, rainier summers.

According to Hazel Ryan of the Wildwood Trust in Kent, climate change and the disappearance of hedgerows and forests have both had an impact on the population of dormice.

She claimed that the construction of highways and housing developments had broken up their habitats.

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Breeding

Up until the hazel dormice hibernates, monitoring will keep going at the UK nature reserve and other breeding locations throughout the South East.

The new growth of woody vegetation that develops after woodland management techniques like coppicing, ride widening, thinning, or glade construction are preferred by dormice. Although they occasionally inhabit conifer plantations, old hedgerows, scrubland, and old coppiced woodland are other places where they can be found in the UK.

They are currently primarily restricted to southern England and Wales, with a few sporadic populations in the Midlands, Wales, and the Lake District. Their range has dramatically diminished over time. Even there, the distribution of dormice is uneven.

In the UK, hazel dormice are rare and in danger of going extinct, and are a priority species. The Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 protects them.