Hazel Dormice
'Yeah I'm cute' - but there is more to know about me
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Backwell Environment Trust was established in 2004 and presently own and manage two nature reserves - the 10 acre Jubilee Stone Wood and the 12 acre Badgers Wood |
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If there's one British mammal that truely sums up the word 'cute' it has to be the Hazel Dormouse. These elusive, beautiful creatures are rarely seen however, as they are very secretive, nocturnal and spend most of their lives high up in the tree canopy. Their numbers have declined significantly over the last 100 years, mainly due to the decline in woodland coppicing, but now have full legal protection under both UK and European law.
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| BET's nature reserves are already home to large numbers of dormice and our volunteers have been working very hard over the last couple of years to make both of our reserves even more dormouse-friendly than they are now. The unusually the high numbers of dormice on BET's reserves has led to us this year, being entered into the UK National Dormouse Monitoring Programme which is all very exciting. |
| Under the supervision of an English Nature licenced dormouse handler, we check their nests once a month between spring and autumn and try very hard (usually without much success!) not to be totally enchanted by these beautiful, gentle creatures. |
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