Latest News: Next Event - Dec 8th, Hedgehog Talk, Bristol

Writer and ecologist Hugh Warwick will be talking about one of Britain's best loved animals - the hedgehog. He has studied them, on and off, for over 25 years, has written about them, rescued them, radio tracked them and talked, incessantly, about them. He will be sharing his insights into the madness of the extreme end of the hedgehog lovers world while arguing that a little bit of hedgehog love in all our lives could be the key to the salvation of humanity. He will also be signing copies of his book, A Prickly Affair.

For more details, click here
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We are looking to change that and are hoping to create a Gloucestershire Mammal Group. We are Mike Harvey & Mark Lumsden  Both of us are keen mammal enthusiasts actively involved as volunteers on Otter and Water Vole conservation projects with the local wildlife trusts. Much good work is already under-way to study and conserve the counties mammal population. However we feel that with the help of fellow mammal enthusiasts there is so much more we could learn about our native mammals. That knowledge could then feed back into ongoing and future conservation projects.

The aims of the group would be:-

We have called the group the Bristol and Gloucestershire Mammal Group because its broadly based around the county of Gloucestershire and the City of Bristol. Mammals don’t recognise county borders so we are not limiting ourselves to county lines. We are already looking at an Otter project based in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, so don’t be shy if you live just over the official border!

The group would be specifically focused on terrestrial mammals as bats are already well covered by the local bat groups.  Since both of us are already involved in Otter projects, Otters are likely to be the species the group initially focuses on. But we are keen to broaden the focus of the group to cover all our terrestrial mammals.

However, we can’t do anything without your help. First we need to know if there are other enthusiasts out there that would be keen to join a local mammal group, and ideally, get involved in practical survey work.  You don’t need to know a lot about mammals or have experience in surveying, just have an interest in mammals and an enthusiasm to get involved in helping them. But if you do have lots of experience, or relevant professional skills, then so much the better.  We are only keen amateurs so all help is greatly appreciated.

Mark has already set up our first project. He is organising a group of volunteers to undertake Otter surveys in Bristol and the surrounding areas. We will shortly be expanding that survey northwards,  and are working with  Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to expand  their Otter survey project.

If you would be interested in joining the group and / or helping out with our Otter survey then all we need you to do at this stage is register your interest by clicking on the link and filling in the form. There is no commitment on your part and we guarantee that any personal details you provide will only be used for correspondence about the mammal group.  If things don’t work out then we will destroy any personal data we have received.

However we are hopeful there are many more mammal enthusiast out there that are keen to get involved in surveying and monitoring their local mammal populations. So once we have had a chance to gauge interest and work out where you all are we will be in touch.

In the mean time,  we have added a forum to the website if you would like to chat  about Otters, Mammals, or ideas for the Bristol and Gloucestershire Mammal Group with your fellow enthusiasts.