The hazel dormouse is one of Britain's most charismatic small mammals, spending half its life in hibernation, and now severely threatened by woodland fragmentation and the loss of hazel coppice management.
Dormouse welfare is intimately tied to the structural quality and connectivity of woodland habitats. Fragmented populations in isolated woods face inbreeding depression and local extinction. Premature emergence from hibernation during mild winters exhausts fat reserves, and individuals that fail to accumulate sufficient weight before hibernation are unlikely to survive. Traditional hazel coppice management, which has declined sharply, is essential for providing the sequential food sources that allow dormice to build hibernation reserves.