Cumbria Water Vole Project ^Featured

Work has been underway to protect the water vole in Cumbria, as the animal that inspired the beloved character 'Ratty' from the Wind in the Willows has become Britain’s fastest declining mammal. Once common and widespread, water vole numbers have plummeted in recent years as their habitats along river banks have been lost and North American minks have become a serious predator.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Eden Rivers Trust have been working together to support and expand the population of water voles in Cumbria. To boost numbers they have been breeding water voles with the aim of reintroducing them to the wild. Following a successful breeding programme, nearly 100 water voles were released in March 2010, to a carefully selected site near Warcop. The project team has been working hard with landowners to make sure that the habitat is suitable, to give them the best chance of survival.

Staff will continue to monitor the water voles over the next few months and years, learning valuable lessons about the voles and how they can be protected in future.

location: Eden and East Lakes
project delivered by: Cumbria Wildife Trust & Eden Rivers Trust

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