Rare dormice released to create county's only known population

CONSERVATIONISTS have released 20 rare hazel dormice into a secret woodland location in Leicestershire to create the county's only known population.

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The tiny mammals were reintroduced this week to an undisclosed area of the Bradgate Park Trust estate by wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and its partners.

It comes as part of national efforts to help the endangered species come back from the brink of extinction.

The native dormouse, immortalised as the sleepy guest at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland, has suffered declines of 70% nationally since 2000 and has vanished from 20 English counties.

Annual dormouse reintroductions began in 1993 and have been managed by PTES since 2000, with 1,142 being released into 26 different woodlands in 13 counties, including six English counties where they had previously been lost.