Shedding light on lives of our smaller mammals (From Salisbury Journal)

Shedding light on lives of our smaller mammals

12:17pm Thursday 12th March 2009

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THE survey work of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust means we have an understanding of the distribution of small mammal species.

There are eight such species in Hampshire – the field vole, bank vole, wood mouse, yellow neck mouse, harvest mouse, pygmy shrew, common shrew and water shrew.

Without these surveys it would be impossible to monitor the rise and fall in populations of these animals and geographical areas where these species exist would not be identified and we would not know which were in need of conservation.

The biodiversity team at the Trust, along with volunteers and members of Hampshire Mammal Group, has conducted several small mammal trapping surveys on Trust reserves this year.

They use longworth traps, humane traps which have a large nestbox and a tunnel with a trip which shuts the door, trapping the mammal inside. A variety of baits are placed in the nestbox of the trap, along with a ball of hay for warmth.

Baits include casters (blue bottle fly larvae) for the insectivorous shrews and grain and carrot for the rodents.

The traps are placed out in the evening and care is taken to ensure they are well hidden. The team looks for small mammal tracks and signs such as feeding remains, dropping and “runs” (tunnels through the grass the mammals use regularly), and then place the traps nearby. Anyone can help monitor the small mammal species in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by sending in records of what they have seen and where. To find out more about small mammal recording in Hampshire contact Hampshire Mammal Group on 01489 774406 or e-mail NatalieR@hwt.org.uk.

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