Limburg to restore the habitat of the critically endangered garden dormouse

The province of Limburg, along with municipalities in the southern region of the province and site managers will restore the habitat of the critically endangered garden dormouse over the next four years. In the Netherlands, the animal is only found in the southern Limburg area. Until recently, little was known about it.

Last year, scientists, several zoos and conservationists investigated what needs to be done to save the garden dormouse from extinction in the Netherlands. Known in Dutch as the eikelmuis, a portmanteau of the words for acorn and mouse, but it is not a mouse, and it does not eat acorns.

The animal is a rodent that is part of the Gliridae family, and it resembles a squirrel. Until now, there were hardly any known images of the garden dormouse in the wild. Researchers during the study managed to capture the animals on video for the first time. "A garden dormouse in the Netherlands is much more endangered than a giant panda in China. But everyone knows the panda and hardly anyone knows the garden dormouse," said the Dutch Mammal Society.

Garden dormice prefer to live in old forests with natural tree cavities, research determined. They mainly use nest boxes in forests without old trees. Garden dormice have also been found in bird nests. The animals look for food in dense undergrowth and they have a preference for blackberries, gooseberries, common hazel, elderberries and red currants. They also eat insects, snails and spiders. The garden dormice avoid open fields, and need contiguous hedges and bushes in their habitat.

The Dutch Mammal Society will screen a short film about the garden dormouse on its website on Monday afternoon.