Vote for your local wildlife by taking part in the People’s Trust for Endangered Species ‘Living with Mammals’ survey.
As General Election fever mounts and voters weigh up where to cast their votes, the shape of the political landscape lies in the balance. The shape of the natural landscape is just as precarious, with some species thriving and others threatened and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is asking people to sign-up for Living with Mammals, its annual poll of the nation’s mammals which runs between the end of March and the end of June.
David Wembridge, Surveys Officer at PTES explains: “Like the political landscape, regions are differently represented by our wild mammals – red squirrels, for example, are found mostly in Scotland and the north of England, a little like their red political counterparts, while hazel dormice, which are rare but occasional visitors to gardens, are only found in southern England – perhaps showing a blue political hue. Other species, like the Green Party and UKIP, have more isolated strongholds, such as the greater mouse-eared bat which is known at a single site on the South coast!”
People’s Trust for Endangered Species is asking members of the public to look out for mammals in the green spaces around their homes and places of work and take part in Living with Mammals. Now in its 13th year, the 2015 survey is asking volunteers to take part in at least eight of the thirteen weeks between 30th March and the end of June.
This citizen science project not only acts as an important poll of how wildlife is faring, but by recording the public’s observations of mammals and their tell-tale signs in the built environment, the results help provide a picture of how towns and cities can support our wildlife. Volunteers are required to select a site and spend a short time each week observing it, reporting their sightings online at the PTES website.
Gardens, allotments, cemeteries, recreational land, brown field sites, railway embankments and roadside verges, as well as pockets of heath and woodland adjacent to buildings are all typical survey sites and can support a surprising diversity of mammals.
Spotted at the greatest number of sites last year were grey squirrels and foxes, whose numbers have changed little since 2003 when the survey was first run. Bats were the next most commonly recorded species, at almost half of sites, but badgers, voles, wood mice, hedgehogs, and rarer species such as red squirrel and otter, were also reported.
David Wembridge concludes, “By carefully identifying and counting the mammals that live in and around built-up land, we can begin to understand and encourage the biodiversity on our doorstep—not just for the next political term but for our lifetimes.”
To take part in the 2015 Living with Mammals survey, register online at www.ptes.org/lwm