Main Menu

Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Basket Search

Donate

PTES News Basket Search

Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Dormice

Dormice

What did our box checks reveal about dormouse populations in 2024?

Overall 2024 was a warm and unsettled year for the UK. It was the fourth warmest year on record in Britain. Eight months had temperatures above their usual average, with …

Read article...

Bridging the knowledge gap: the valuable contributions of conservation volunteers in monitoring dormice

Bridging the knowledge gap Hazel dormice have long been the focus of conservation efforts in Britain. In the 1990s Pat Morris and Paul Bright studied them, laying the foundation for …

Read article...

My day with the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group

Lily is a member of the Nottingham Wildlife Trust Keeping it Wild youth team. Having done a diploma at Brackenhurst, Lily has been accepted at Bangor University to study ecology …

Read article...

Unexpected guests: records of other mammals in the NDMP

Bank-vole-CezaryKorkosz-Shutterstock.jpg-

The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) primarily focuses on tracking the population of hazel dormice and gathering essential biometric data on this endangered species to assess the health of Britain’s …

Read article...

Hazel dormice in hedges and scrubs

Ellie Scopes recently completed her PhD at the University of Exeter. She investigated how often and when hazel dormice are found in hedgerows and scrubby habitats in the South West. …

Read article...

Tales from the archive: The National Key Sites Monitoring Scheme

Dormouse in bird nest box - June 2023 - credit Angela Pounder - Dormouse in bird nest box - June 2023 - credit Angela Pounder 3

Setting up the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme The National Dormouse Monitoring programme (NDMP) was set up in 1990. It started with only 13 sites but under the guidance and enthusiasm of …

Read article...

Press release: Reintroduction of rare hazel dormice bolsters Bedfordshire’s only population

Four dormice in torpor by Sally Wadsworth

Following the county’s first and only dormouse reintroduction in 2001, this release boosts genetic diversity for this isolated population This week, 10 rare hazel dormice have been reintroduced into a …

Read article...

We give a rare dormouse population in Bedfordshire a boost in numbers

Back to Beds for sleepy dormice This week, in early June, 10 rare hazel dormice have been reintroduced into a Bedfordshire woodland to bolster the county’s only existing population. These …

Read article...

A look back at our 2023 dormouse reintroduction: how’re the dormice doing now?

Dormouse in open leaves_Michael Walker_extended

This June, we successfully released 38 healthy captive-bred hazel dormouse into a woodland on the Calke Abbey estate in Derbyshire. We reintroduced this new population of dormice in collaboration with …

Read article...

Press release: Hazel dormice have declined by 70% since 2000, new report finds

Dormouse Miroslav Hlavko Shutterstock resized for web

A landmark report published today [10th November 2023] by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) reveals that Britain’s native hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) population has declined by a …

Read article...

Bulgarian bushfires threaten endangered dormice

Bushfire at Roach’s mouse-tailed dormouse study site During the early autumn, we contacted our conservation leader, Nedko Nedyalkov who’s based in Bulgaria, to find out how his research on the …

Read article...

Fame, at last, for the dormice of Benfield Hill

Dormouse 3, Flower Field, 19 Oct 07, improved

Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group (BWCG) I was delighted when Yvette Austin, the environment correspondent for BBC Southeast, asked me if she could film the monthly Benfield Wildlife and Conservation …

Read article...

Dormice

Search by topic