Guest authors

Neil Bemment, Chair of the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders’ Group (CDCBG), explains what a dormouse ‘studbook’ is, and why we need it.  The Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group (CDCBG) was established in the early 1990s and brought together several like-minded private individuals and zoological collections interested in conserving hazel dormice. As the CDCBG population slowly …

Gemma Watkinson, a member of the Lincolnshire Dormouse Group, reports on how their hazel dormice have not been observing lockdown. Dormice find their way into a new woodland This year, even though we were only able to carry out our nest box surveys during August, September and October, the results have been really exciting! We’re …

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 …

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 …

Between sessions at the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 26), the whistles and chatter of starlings should be played to remind delegates of the Danish dairy farmer, Peder Thellesen. Thellesen, who has no formal scientific training, may or may not be at the climate talks in person, but his work has been described as …

Mammals have long inspired us to observe and care for the world around us, even becoming symbols of conservation such as the WWF Panda. The last few decades have seen range reductions and population declines for many mammal species due to overexploitation, pollution and habitat loss, amongst other reasons. Figures suggest that at least one-fifth …

There were times this spring when it seemed not much was going on. One day blended into another and lockdown began to feel like a period of torpor or, perhaps even, hibernation. For the greater good, many of us had our movements restricted, and our favourite spots felt quite distant. As one of the fortunate …

Despite the fact that Scotland’s red squirrel numbers have dropped hugely in recent decades, it is still home to 75% of our UK population. This makes it extremely important that we ensure Scotland’s endangered red squirrels have a secure future. We’ve been funding intern George Porton, who is part of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels initiative. …

Studying in the rain has its challenges Conducting field research in the tropics is challenging. Working in the Peruvian Amazon during the rainy season, between November and April, is even more so. When I started studying giant otters in the Madre de Dios province a few years ago, I was advised to stick to the …

Arnaud Desbiez and his team are working in the Pantanal region, Brazil, to protect giant anteaters from habitat degradation and fragmentation as part of the Anteaters & Highways project. Giant anteaters are classified as vulnerable to extinction. Our colleague, Arnaud, wrote to us recently to describe how the recent fires in the Amazon have affected …