People are being urged to help spot water voles in rivers, ponds, and streams, as they are now considered “Britain’s fastest declining mammal.”

According to the wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), water vole numbers have plummeted by 90% due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and predation by the invasive American mink. Volunteers are invited to survey over 700 pre-selected riverbank sites across England, Scotland, and Wales, or to register a new location nearby.

In 2023, volunteers surveyed 113 sites, with water voles found at 47 of them.

“Water voles have the title of Britain’s fastest declining mammal which is a pretty hard title to take on,” said Emily Luck, water vole officer for PTES.

Over the past decade, more than 2,000 sites have been checked, contributing valuable data to conservation efforts.

A spokesperson told BBC Radio Sussex that urbanisation and mink predation—”they developed a bit of a taste for water voles”—have been key threats.

Despite their endangered status, Sussex remains a stronghold for the species, with water voles recorded at five of 15 sites last year, including Birdham near Chichester.

“We’re looking for feeding signs, droppings and burrows,” said Emily.

“We’re also checking some of the ditches, it may look like a run-off ditch on the side of the road – but it might be producing lots of vegetation and shelter for water voles. They use these ditches as corridors.

“To be able to know where to do our work, we need to know where the water voles are – and where they are doing well or struggling.”

PTES said the volunteer surveys have shown “encouraging signs” of recovery in areas where targeted conservation is in place, with some small but important increases in local populations.

 

 

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