The Hunt is on!

Dormouse detectives get cracking...

Sept 2001 - March 2002

Researchers are going nuts this autumn trying to find out if one of the country's most elusive creatures is still living secretly in our woods.

Wildlife presenter Bill Oddie and Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley joined forces with wildlife groups at the launch of the Great Nut Hunt, the largest national survey of dormice in Europe. The event organised by the Mammals Trust UK, English Nature, Center Parcs and the Countryside Council for Wales is encouraging people of all ages to turn 'wood-be' detectives and search for dormouse-nibbled hazelnuts in their local woodlands and hedgerows.

Dormice leave a unique tooth-marked hole in the hazelnuts they eat, and it is by looking for these nuts and sending them to our 'Chief Nutter', Dr Pat Morris, that we will be able to determine just out how this shy animal is faring in our countryside. The results of the survey will then help conservationists to develop a national plan to save the dormouse from extinction.

The hazel dormouse, celebrated in Alice in Wonderland, is now one of Britain's rarest animals, and research suggests that they have disappeared from more than half their historic range due to loss of ancient woodlands and hedgerows.

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The first Great Nut Hunt in 1993 identified 334 dormouse sites, some of which were unknown at the time to Dr Pat Morris, of Royal Holloway, University of London and his expert team. In total, 250,000 nuts were examined and 1352 were verified as having been nibbled by dormice. All this information was the foundation on which much of the conservation work since then has been based.

Launching the survey in September, Bill Oddie said: "We want everyone to get out and get nutting so get your nutting boots on! This is a wonderful chance to get involved in an important scientific survey which will provide valuable information and help conserve one of our most shy and beautiful mammals. Dormice are a vital part of our woodland and hedgerow biodiversity and we need to do everything we can to ensure a happier future for them."

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