Harvest Mouse Project

Volunteer members are helping with all aspects of a project, which includes breeding harvest mice, keeping non-breeding stock, releasing them into wild habitats and monitoring their progress. The work is being carried out In conjuction with Sandwell Country Park and Dudley Zoo and the scheme was initiated by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Chester Zoo.

Sandwell Valley Harvest Mouse Breeding Programme Update
Adapted from the reports by Andy Purcell, Paul Essex and Janet Granger in Sandnats Bulletins for 2001 - 2005, where full details will be found.

Micromys minutus Harvest mouse.

The initial aim had been to release more than 200 of the creatures in 2000. In June the first 50 were released followed by 85 in July, 54 in September and 10 in October , giving a total of 193 in the first year. In the following years, many more were released, 77 in 2001, 50 in 2002, and 220 in 2003 into 4 locations in the Valley.

Thanks must go to all of the keepers (and mice) for their enthuiasm and care in creating such favourable breeding conditions for the mice and their young, which made the release programme so viable.

Currently, interest has shifted to a longer term project where members are attempting to assess the status of the released animals on the respective sites. Some positive indications of presence were discovered in the period immediately after release, but at present there is insufficient available data to enable any substantial report to be produced