Using reintroductions to reclaim the lost range of the dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius, in England
This site is not the final version and is currently being tested. Any projects, sites and species data added to the site should be for testing only and will be wiped before the final version is released.
- Monitoring points:
- Species observations:
Test project
No
Project summary
Declines in distribution appeared to be in progress at about this time as Barrett-Hamilton & Hinton (1910) described it as being rare in the Midlands and locally distributed in the north. Until quite recently, few good data were available on the distribution of the dormouse, but efforts to improve this were associated with English Nature’s Species Recovery Programme, begun in 1992.
Overall aim
Reintroductions, mainly using captive-bred animals, have been generally successful at re-establishing populations within this lost part of the species’ range, with only 2, perhaps 3, out of 15 known to have failed. However, the establishment of new isolated populations is not seen as an end point to the project and attention is now focused on improving habitat connectivity around the reintroduction sites, to enable the founder populations to spread to nearby woods.
Name of species translocated
Muscardinus avellanarius
How many species?
1
Monitoring form type
Translocation generic records
Project timeline
Bred animals in captivity were translocated from 1993 to 2008 in various parts of England.
Translocated areas:
Cambridgeshire/Brampton Wood; 1993-94
Nottinghamshire/Treswell Wood; 1994-95
Cheshire/Stockton Dingle; 1996-97
Buckinghamshire/Little Linford Wood; 1998
Warwickshire/Bubbenhall Wood; 1998
North Yorkshire 1/Rievaulx; 1999
Suffolk 1/Priestly Wood; 2000
Bedfordshire 1/Maulden Wood; 2001
Cambridgeshire 2/Bedford Purlieus; 2001
Staffordshire/Hamps Valley; 2002
Lincolnshire/Chambers Farm Wood; 2002
Derbyshire 1/Leashaw Wood; 2003
North Yorkshire 2/Heslett & Peter Woods; 2004
Derbyshire 2/Monsal Dale; 2005
Suffolk 2/Bradfield Woods; 2006
North Yorkshire 3; 2008
Translocated areas:
Cambridgeshire/Brampton Wood; 1993-94
Nottinghamshire/Treswell Wood; 1994-95
Cheshire/Stockton Dingle; 1996-97
Buckinghamshire/Little Linford Wood; 1998
Warwickshire/Bubbenhall Wood; 1998
North Yorkshire 1/Rievaulx; 1999
Suffolk 1/Priestly Wood; 2000
Bedfordshire 1/Maulden Wood; 2001
Cambridgeshire 2/Bedford Purlieus; 2001
Staffordshire/Hamps Valley; 2002
Lincolnshire/Chambers Farm Wood; 2002
Derbyshire 1/Leashaw Wood; 2003
North Yorkshire 2/Heslett & Peter Woods; 2004
Derbyshire 2/Monsal Dale; 2005
Suffolk 2/Bradfield Woods; 2006
North Yorkshire 3; 2008
Funding body
People's Trust for Endangered Species
Natural England
Project team - organisational or group members
Anthony J. Mitchell-Jones and Ian White
Collaborators: People's Trust for Endangered Species; Dr. Pat Morris and Paul Bright, Royal Holloway, University of London; Common Dormouse Captive-breeding Group;
Collaborators: People's Trust for Endangered Species; Dr. Pat Morris and Paul Bright, Royal Holloway, University of London; Common Dormouse Captive-breeding Group;
Country
England
Region or locality
England, multiple regions
Species
Species benefits
Improved national status of species
Scientific benefits
Improve translocation practice
Site