Dormouse survey needs help in Carmarthenshire
People are being asked to help with a nutty autumn survey in Carmarthenshire.
The county’s Biodiversity Partnership wants to find out as much as possible about the rare and secretive dormouse, and needs help us search for signs of the mammals.
Like the dormouse immortalised in Alice in Wonderland, they spend a lot of time asleep - over three-quarters of their lifetime - and are rarely seen.
To track down where they are found it is best to look for signs of their favourite food – hazelnuts.
Dormice leave very distinctive gnaw marks on the shells, distinctive from other mice or voles.
People are asked to look for the nibbled nuts in a hazel-rich wood or hedgerow around where they live and let the partnership know what they find.
Handy packs and booklets are available to help people become nutty detectives, and envelopes are provided to return any nuts found so that the species of dormouse can be identified.
A Great Nut Hunt is also taking place at the National Botanic Garden on Saturday, September 18.
Participants can follow the nut trail and search for the dormouse’s favourite food, join walks, taking place at 11am and 2pm, to look at placews dormice like to live, and pick up a pack to become a Great Nut Hunt detective.
Biodiversity Officer Isabel Macho said: “The dormice may be one of our most elusive mammals but their signs are some of the easiest to identify and this is a survey that everyone can get involved with.
“We need all the detectives we can get so we can find out as much as possible about where this rare and beautiful animal lives in the county.”
For more information or to request a Great Nut Hunt pack please contact Isabel Macho on 01267224653 or IMacho@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.
For details of the location and admission prices of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, visit www.gardenofwales.org.uk
The county’s Biodiversity Partnership wants to find out as much as possible about the rare and secretive dormouse, and needs help us search for signs of the mammals.
Like the dormouse immortalised in Alice in Wonderland, they spend a lot of time asleep - over three-quarters of their lifetime - and are rarely seen.
To track down where they are found it is best to look for signs of their favourite food – hazelnuts.
Dormice leave very distinctive gnaw marks on the shells, distinctive from other mice or voles.
People are asked to look for the nibbled nuts in a hazel-rich wood or hedgerow around where they live and let the partnership know what they find.
Handy packs and booklets are available to help people become nutty detectives, and envelopes are provided to return any nuts found so that the species of dormouse can be identified.
A Great Nut Hunt is also taking place at the National Botanic Garden on Saturday, September 18.
Participants can follow the nut trail and search for the dormouse’s favourite food, join walks, taking place at 11am and 2pm, to look at placews dormice like to live, and pick up a pack to become a Great Nut Hunt detective.
Biodiversity Officer Isabel Macho said: “The dormice may be one of our most elusive mammals but their signs are some of the easiest to identify and this is a survey that everyone can get involved with.
“We need all the detectives we can get so we can find out as much as possible about where this rare and beautiful animal lives in the county.”
For more information or to request a Great Nut Hunt pack please contact Isabel Macho on 01267224653 or IMacho@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.
For details of the location and admission prices of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, visit www.gardenofwales.org.uk
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