This is a very cute conservation effort (if there is such a thing 😎🙄). I also have to add that the image created by an artificial intelligence computer is magnificent. I instructed the computer to create this image and the result is exactly as I had envisaged so thank you to DALLE.
So why are they building rope bridges between trees in the Forest of Dean in England. The problem appears to be that a fungal disease has killed some trees which has left the habitats of dormice disconnected. The rope bridges reconnect their habitat.
The bridges are being provided by Forestry England. This will enable them to “travel safely between woodlands”. The fungal disease I’m told is ash dieback.
An ecologist at Forestry England, Kate Wollen, said:
“Dormice do not like to come to the ground except for hibernation. They feel vulnerable to predators when on the ground and while these bridges do not replace the trees that had to be felled, they will enable dormice to feel safer as they cross from one part of the wood to another. Forestry England has built two 65 feet long bridges, 16 feet high, over a forest road and supported between the trees.”
A spokesman for the organisation said that the ash dieback fungus had infected trees in Flaxley in the Gloucestershire Forest. They added: “Whilst the hazel dormouse population has declined across the country, the Forest of Dean remains an important habitat for these tiny creatures. The bridges took less than two days to install and over the summer trail cameras will be fitted to monitor the dormice using them.”
A ranger in this forest, Leoni Dawson said: “We could not have accomplished this project without the help of our volunteers. We’ve never tried this before and it is exciting to see what will happen.”
RELATED: Roundup of latest news on successful wildlife conservation March 2024
Source:The Times hard copy newspaper of April 12th, 2024 (many thanks).
