Water voles to be released into national park

Water voles are classed as endangered mammals

About 100 water voles are to be reintroduced to a valley in a national park later this month.

Forestry England is releasing the animals at Wild Ennerdale in the Lake District on 12 August, as part of a programme to rebuild the mammals' population numbers in the UK.

Water voles are on the red endangered list of British mammals.

Forestry England's species reintroduction officer, Hayley Dauben, said she was hopeful the site would provide an "excellent habitat" for the rodents.

Water voles were once widespread across the UK inhabiting streams, rivers, canals, and wetlands.

However, their numbers have declined dramatically since the 1970s due to habitat loss and being preyed on by American mink, which were brought to the UK for their fur.

'Mink-free habitats'

Ms Dauben said the team had been monitoring Wild Ennerdale for more than two years and it did not believe there was a permanent mink population in the area.

However, she said that mink do occasionally visit from other areas and this led the team to start trapping them in August 2024.

"Our mink traps are successfully catching mink in the River Ehen, before they enter the valley, while at the same time we have seen no signs of mink above the lake," she said.

After the release of the voles, Ms Dauben said the next challenge would be monitor where they went and make sure they ended up in "water vole-friendly and mink-free habitats".