This shot of a usually elusive water vole popping out of his home at the New Forest Wildlife Park will always hold a special place in my memory, being my first published photo: This shot was recently featured on the photos page of the September 2011 issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine. They’re undoubtedly cute appearance makes water voles a great charismatic species for grabbing attention to wildlife conservation in the UK.
Despite a 90% decline in the 90’s, captive breed & release programmes, mink trapping and river bank restoration have made them one of the few endangered natives on the up. The latter two also do great work in increasing populations of more unknown species that none the less deserve help despite the lack of awareness: Another great example of a flagship animal leading the preservation of it’s habitat’s biodiversity.