News

Moles are known for one thing: molehills. But dig a little deeper and the extraordinary life of moles becomes apparent. Born to dig The European mole (Talpa europaea) is an insectivore, akin to hedgehogs and shrews, and lives an almost entirely subterranean existence. They are superbly adapted to a digging lifestyle, with broad, shovel-like forelimbs …

Searching for noble chafer beetles Last summer PTES funded a new national noble chafer beetle survey. Hundreds of volunteers were sent a survey pack and asked to put up a (harmless!) trap and fit it with a lure. Thank you to everyone who has helped this year. We wanted to expand our knowledge of this beautiful beetle’s …

An action plan for brown-headed spider monkeys Alma Hernandez and her team are working hard in Colombia to gather enough information to create the first National Action Plan for brown-headed spider monkeys. They are only found in a narrow range in northern Colombia, Ecuador and Panama, alongside the seven species of spider monkey living in …

Short story from the understory My name is Stephen Carroll and I’m a dormouse-aholic. 16 years ago I encountered dormice at a woodland near Exeter, and I’ve been monitoring the nestbox scheme there ever since. The timing coincided with my mature awakening as a wildlife enthusiast. Also, I live in Devon, a dormousey hotspot, so …

Hi, my name is Holly and I have been volunteering with the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group as part of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) since February 2019. I am currently studying at University and want to go into conservation when I graduate. For that reason, I began volunteering with …

My job in a nutshell I have often wondered, if I was ever stopped by the police and asked my occupation, and I replied, ‘I’m a dormouse officer’, whether they would see the funny side. I hope they would, because this job is fun, exciting, interesting, challenging, stressful, and very rewarding. But what do I …

Hi, I’m Suzanne! I moved to Kent from Leeds 22 years ago and was keen to get involved with the local wildlife groups as a way of connecting with the county. I contacted Kent Mammal Group to ask if there was any way I could help out and they said I might want to train …

Hi, I’m Michael Walker and I’ve been helping to monitor the dormice at the three reintroduction sites in Nottinghamshire since 2015 when I was on the feeding rota for the new release that year. That was also the first time that I came face to face with a dormouse. Reintroductions generate a lot of interest …

Hazel dormice aren’t picky; they take advantage of whatever food is around Eating is not only essential to life, but what is eaten and when can have a considerable impact on a species: where it’s found, how many offspring a female gives birth to, how much competitive overlap there is with other animals and even …

2020 marks thirty years of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) which is an incredible achievement. And it’s thanks mainly to our volunteers. Their dormouse data enables us to produce a robust, current state of hazel dormice in Britain. An achievement, because getting a dormouse licence isn’t easy. Dormouse licences explained People usually want a …

From the arboreal to the aquatic Fifteen species of rodent make up about a quarter of the wild terrestrial mammal species in Britain. They’ve filled a wide range of niches, from the arboreal (red squirrels and hazel dormice) to the aquatic (water voles and beavers), and many are familiar urban neighbours. Most conspicuous are red …

Stopping the demand of rhino horn The last decade has witnessed a rhino poaching crisis. On average almost 1,000 rhinos were being killed every year. Why? Most rhino horn is taken to Asia, but the reasons people demand rhino horn are complex. Horn has historically been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine but recent years have …