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Vole venture

Water voles are released to reintroduce them to the River Dore.

Sanjida O'Connell has come to the Golden Valley to take part in an ambitious release project - over 500 water voles are being released into the River Dore. So thanks to Derek Gow, this will be the place to see them in the wild. Farmers said that water voles used to be here 20 years ago. The voles will be placed in a special cage for a 'soft release' - the cage has holes in it so that the voles can come and go as they please, but cats and mink can't get at them. When the voles are confident enough, they can set off to find a territory of their own. Water voles certainly need a helping hand: over the last 60 years they have disappeared from 90% of the sites they occupied in the UK. Much of their riverside habitat has been lost and they've been preyed upon by mink. Projects like the Golden Valley mean that one day they might be a common sight again. The voles being released are two month old babies. Their own babies will be living wild on the river by the end of the year - the first wild water voles here in 20 years. Hopefully in a year's time there will be a good chance of seeing them.

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes