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A group of hazel dormice are to be released into woodland in Lancashire to create a "northern stronghold".

These 39 little mice are part of a major effort by wildlife charities and conservationists to increase the dormice population in the UK.

Last year, organisations the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Natural England and the University of Cumbria introduced their 1,000th dormouse into the wild!

Reintroducing dormice into the wild has been a priority for conservationists since 1993, but just a few years ago research found that they were at risk of being endangered!

What is a dormouse?

Dormice are tiny mammals, usually caramel in colour, with a long furry tail.

They're easy to miss in woods and shrubbery as their bodies are only 8cm long!

Dormice are typically more active in spring, summer and autumn before a long hibernation during winter.

They love woody areas where they can feed on nuts, berries and little insects.

What are the threats to dormice?

In 2019, research from the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme revealed that their population had halved since the year 2000.

Ian White from PTES, said: "Hazel dormice have declined by a staggering 51% since 2000 and are considered extinct in 17 English counties."

Dormice have struggled to keep their population up partly because of damage to their habitat.

It's hoped that the latest group of northern dormice will join up with previous dormice that have been released across the region.

The dormice are raised in captivity and quarantined before they're released into woodland.

This is to make sure that they are super healthy and won't spread any diseases in the mice that are already living in the wild.

And their new home in an ancient woodland managed by the National Trust has been specially picked to make sure it meets all their needs.

Conservationists will monitor the tiny mice for 10 days in the wild before they're officially released.