Where’s Ratty?
© Terry Whittaker
It is ten years since a real live water vole was officially recorded in Surrey and a new report released by The Wildlife Trusts paints a bleak picture of the future survival of this much-loved mammal.
The National Water Vole Database and Mapping Project has revealed that water vole distribution has plummeted by nearly a third across England and Wales. The study analysed data collected by The Wildlife Trusts over a ten year period and found a 30% drop in places where water voles were historically found*.
Now Surrey Wildlife Trust is calling for more funding for water vole conservation projects and for landowners, local authorities and local people to work together to help give ‘Ratty’ a chance of survival.
Water voles used to be seen and heard regularly along ditches, streams and rivers across Surrey. And the much-loved mammal is a character – known as ‘Ratty’ – in Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic Wind in the Willows.
water vole distribution has plummeted by nearly a third across England and Wales
“Water voles were once the most common British mammal, with eight million in the UK a century ago,” said Jim Jones, Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscapes Manager. “But they are now our fastest declining mammal and we fear they are probably functionally extinct in Surrey.
“This is a terrible shame and while The Wildlife Trusts and others are working hard to help bring them back again and care for the places that they need to survive, much more work is needed if we’re going to stop this charming creature disappearing altogether.”
Not to be confused with rats, water voles are a similar size and brown in colour, but with a blunt nose and rounded face, a furry tail and small ears. They burrow in river banks and feed on reeds and grasses, often leaving piles of cigar-shaped droppings, nibbled vegetation and star shaped footprints.
It’s believed the main reason for the dramatic decline of the species in Surrey is two-fold: the widespread destruction and degradation of wetland habitats and the populations of non-native American mink, which prey on water voles.
*Ten year period: January 1st 2006 to 31st December 2015