The presence of the “red listed” endangered water vole species has been found across the Peak District and South Pennines due to the hard work of mink removal volunteers in the area.
Ecologists from Yorkshire Water and the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have been monitoring vole activity.
Surveys have shown that the water voles are quickly colonising new habitats, hopefully leading to more resilient and better-connected populations
Sean Davey, lead ecologist at Yorkshire Water, said: “We knew there were still water voles at one of our South Yorkshire reservoirs, but the recent surveys have found them in many more streams in the moorland catchments of the River Don and Holme.”
Yorkshire Water is also working with Waterlife Recovery Trust, a charity dedicated to removing mink in an ethical way in order to restore the population of native animals.
Professor Anthony Martin, chair of the charity, said: “The water life recovery trust employs staff whose job it is to find, recruit and train volunteers. Companies like Yorkshire Water and other donors make all that possible.”
Environmental groups have said there has been a 97% decrease in the population of water voles since the 1950’s because of the presence of mink. American Mink are an invasive species in England as they actively hunt whatever they can and have no natural predators to keep their population in check.
Despite being non-native, mink are common in the UK as they were brought over for fur-farming in the 1920s. Numerous animals escaped or were released allowing them to form populations in the wild, much to the disadvantage of native creatures such as frogs, rabbits, kingfishers and water voles.
The Water Life Recovery Trust has high hopes for the restoration of the numbers of water voles in Sheffield. Pledging to eradicate mink in the area within the next five years.
Chair of The Water Life Recovery Trust, Professor Tony Martin said: “We have completely eradicated the American mink from several other counties and the water voles have very quickly bounced back. That was the goal and we achieved it in a remarkably quick time.”
The Water Life Recovery Trust encourages members of the public to report mink sightings by contacting them or filling out the form on their website: Report a Sighting – Waterlife Recovery Trust