Rare Water Voles Book Into Coastal Resort17/02/2009 |
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| Thames Water found the creatures at Crossness Marshes beside Crossness Sewage Treatment Works in East London, where work is due to start on an extension to boost treatment capacity by 44%. To ensure they are out of harm's way, the voles are being chauffeured to Wildwood captive breeding centre in Herne Bay, Kent, where they will stay for two years of procreation before returning to Crossness. |
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Martin Wagner, Thames Water's Conservation Manager, said: "With work due to start soon on the planned extension to the works, we wanted to make sure these voles were not disturbed or hurt in any way. That's why we're transferring them to a breeding sanctuary in sunny Kent. They're likely to stay there for about two years, where we hope their numbers will increase. They will then be brought back to Crossness to enjoy new reed ditches specially created for them.
Water voles are a really important feature at Crossness, where over recent years we have re-established over 1.5km of ditches for them and have seen them thrive."
Around 30 water voles are being captured - using carrots and apples as bait - under the supervision of wildlife experts from three sludge lagoons and a 260-metre ditch at Crossness to arrive at Herne Bay in time for their breeding season.
Hazel Ryan, Conservation Officer at the Wildwood Trust, said: "The water vole is Britain's most endangered mammal so we're glad Thames Water has taken time to transfer the Crossness voles to us for safe-keeping. We hope they thrive for decades to come when they return to their new habitats at Crossness."
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