Special thanks to everyone at the Ealing Wildlife Group for allowing me to run around with my camera, it was a wholesome afternoon. Support their work with whatever donations you can - ealingwildlifegroup.com/how-to-get-involved/donate/ And if you want to support Leave Curious and get access to exclusive content become a member here on youtube - ru-vid.com/show-UCMrYUtfJiZHN3iJKqrd8UhQjoin Cheers!
Thank you for releasing these beautiful little creatures into this park. These mice are cute and it was lovely seeing them being released into the wild where they can breed and increase their population.
Rob, that was so lovely. It brought tears to my eyes, seeing how people really cherish these little animals, when they get the chance. They seemed terribly tame, though - I hope they'll have enough wits to avoid foxes, cats and other predators 😮 I love this project - such wonderful people.😊
Ahh thank you Annie, I'm so pleased you could see what it meant to the people. From what I understand harvest mice are a little on the docile side. Their role in the food chain is inevitable, we just have to hope that a population can be established. Releasing them at this time of year gives them the best possible chances too :)
Owls are good at catching them...fox are mostly night time people so id say they must be diurnal not nocturnal but maybe thats because of how they were raised. The doormouse is also going rare and also tiny and chubby. We found a baby shrew one time tangled in grass and screaming and my kids could hear the screaming ..he was instantly very tame and I made him a little felt ball to curl up in so I wouldnt swaush him and fed him egg yoks every two hours and then worms which he ate and turns out he was an adult ..but also an invasive species so we had to not put him back in the wild. One of the best animals we rescued...
@@Padraigp Are there many owls in that environment? One does feel sorry for the wee animals at the bottom end of the food chain. Dormice are also almost unbearably cute. I dare say there are some dedicated individuals caring for them, too. A lovely story about the shrew. I hadn't realised that there was an invasive type in the UK. You'd really have to wonder how it got there. Regardless, I think the care and thoughtfulness of your rescuing it was a wonderful act of kindness.
@@anniehill7846 im in ireland so it was probably a british shrew! Lol! I suppose if theres mice then owls will show up. I have owls where I live in ireland and I gcás to see some recently. Once when I mother swooped past me and turned her head full circle to warn me off from her babies and another ...possibly a different type of owls who were taking off together flapping wildly but totally silent...it was amazing... my cat brought me to the feild and showed me the owls...we also have foxes and I think a fox got my cat and his dad...or his dad may have been sick as he was old.. and a big tom cat chasadh my kitten onto the road where a car got her i think. It is a mad life and so much death outside as well... worms and birds and bugs and spiders eating flies and cats eating birds ans foxes eating cats...its ncie to go out about 1 am and see whats going on in the réal world ...same things as people saw in medievil times and neolithic times...all our progress and at the end if the day we are still the same really.
@Padraigp Actually, as a long time fox-exclusive researcher (six years in fact), I can say that foxes don’t actually prey upon cats. In fact, a negative fox/cat encounter is exceedingly rare, and is almost always initiated by a cat. Foxes aren’t very territorial towards other species at all (as long as they’re not threats,) and they’re a non-aggressive species in general. The red fox, the largest fox on earth, isn’t much larger than a cat. Foxes, being opportunistic hunters, will not attempt to hunt and kill a creature their size which can deal a fatal amount of damage to it. Instead, the vast majority of fox/cat interactions are actually ones of indifference where the two animals go separate ways. In my research, I’ve personally watched a fox and a cat interact on many occasions, and never in my life have I seen or heard of an adult cat getting preyed upon by a fox. It’s a common misconception that foxes prey upon cats due to coyotes being mistaken for foxes, seeing as how coyotes regularly kill small dogs and cats. On top of this, foxes have been known to chase cats away from a den site due to the presence of kits, regardless of the danger that a cat poses. Foxes also get a bad rep because they’ll catch small kittens seeing as how they naturally eat small mammals. In reality, foxes and adult cats (or older kittens) rarely have negative conflict, and when it does happen, the fox will almost always run when pit up against an animal that’s relatively similar in size. I know this was a lot, I just feel it’s important to share this information seeing as how this is one of the most common (and most detrimental) misconceptions about foxes that I’ve come across. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a great day.
Wonderful to see They used to be common before their habitats were stolen ! Keep up the good work and support those that are doing all this for the future
Great video! I didn’t realise they could live in that sort of environment (I’ve only ever seen pictures of them in wheat fields!) but actually we have lots of that sort of green messy border here, maybe they are already living there! 😀
Yeah I think they like anywhere thats natural and has a nice 'overgrown' look to it, lots of structural diversity for them to live in. You should get out and look for signs :) Cheers!
Our back garden is left to itself during the summer months and we have lots of Harvest Mice living there, I'm forever rescuing them from our cats jaws.
@@LeaveCurious The garden seems to sustain itself, there are plenty of fruit bushes and trees, plus brambles and rotting logs. Sheet's of plywood where the slow worms congregate under in the summer, a small pond for newts. I think the most important parts are areas that are impenetrable by anything bigger than the fox. Nothing is considered a pest and all are left to themselves.
When we say "rare" I think we should say rarely seen, they are very difficult to see, and usually the only indication of their presence is the small ball like nest built on grass stems. We often class things are rare, when was the last time you saw a Badger? Yet there are Badgers all around us, they just choose not to be seen.
Harvest mice have recently become my favorite animal, but truthfully... I don't even know what they fully do! I think it's because they're very cute :^) But it's awesome to learn more about these small guys that can make a big impact.
They're certainly cute, small and a little unawares... this leads to them being quite an important part in the food chain, feeding a wide variety of species above. As such their lifestyles reflect this life fast die young strategy.
There’s a much wider scheme to reintroduce them to the wider area, that 1000 haven’t just gone into this one site - I’m sure Sean might pick this comment up with a bit more detail.
One of the key stages of scoping whether the project was feasible was whether the we had suitable, sustainable and connected habitats. We identified six sites that met these criteria all connected by green corridor for the mice to disperse and each metapopulation to eventually connect with each other via the Grand Union Canal-sides and also railway embankments. So in theory this should lead to a healthy, self sustaining population. We followed Natural England guidelines on species translocations or reintroduction. Fingers crossed it works but early signs are promising.
Mostly I have been applying for RSPB posts but more recently I have applied for a job at Cairngorms Connect, fingers crossed. Thanks for the website recommendation as well, the jobs section seems very helpful!
Last year was a mass year for oaks acorns and hazel trees nuts I collected over a 1000 acorns to germinate and I love lost over 200 I thought it was the squirrels as I’m lucky and live near a wooded stream there’s loads of them about, so I brought wood fine chicken wire and made a big caged nursery for the trees. But I still kept loosing some I only see him the other night whilst having a cup of tea with a digestive. He was quite brave he actually stopped and watched me eat for a few secs. Dear little things
@@LeaveCurious often it’s induced by stress on the trees. If the tree doesn’t survive a drought then maybe the seeds will germinate when conditions improve and thus carry on the genetic lineage. Unfortunately every summer has been very dry, so we may want to plant more drought resistant kinds of trees.
Love this! Just curious, how is this effort going to be measured moving forward? Are you guys planning on coming back to the same place to see if the mice are still there?
Yeah I believe there will be a survey conducted next year to look for signs at all locations, from what I gathered the project is looking promising. If Sean sees this he may answer in more detail. But I will certainly try and go back for any follow ups.
When the undergrowth dies back in the Autumn, Ealing Wildlife Group will revisit all the release sites to search for Harvest Mice nests which they make in the summer in the long grasses. The number of nest will be counted and added to our data from releases in previous years to see how well they are doing.
It's what Steve Irwin said, agriculture is not kind on wildlife. Where there are ruminants wildlife is thriving. Thank you for sharing this lovely video!
@@LeaveCurious can you please forward the link for donating ? I did try ? But can’t get it to work ? Happy to keep this site going ….. lovely to see great nature work and reporting too well done 🤗😉👍
Chill 😂 I’m sure the person does not want them to be threatened. They probably mean it’s astonishing that even mice who used to be so prolific are threatened now.
@@thevikingsock8527I think it’s more that it’s amazing that something as small and quick as a mouse could be a threatened species. You’d usually think of like… Rhinos, or something larger as threatened, not mice.
I believe so yes at a few different locations, you can read about it more on their website :) ealingwildlifegroup.com/conservation-projects/harvest-mice/ that will tell you more!
I'd love to host some of these gorgeous critters in my mini meadow, but it is too small on its own. Perhaps if my neighbours joined in with a patchwork of mini meadows, hedges and gaps in the bottoms of the fences, we could all share a small community of them. Maybe one day. Thanks for sharing this uplifting story.
What a brilliant little release program. OK 90% will be food but ho hum. I love mice, my house mice (who keep their numbers small) are so brave and often see them in my lounge during the day. Have the odd deer mouse too, which is not so great in the kitchen.
4:02 perfect audio segment if anyone looking to add to their text message tone arsenal. Every time you get a notification, you can hear Rob whispering 🤫
Don't we have Kestrel's and Sparrow Hawks in London? They usually go after pigeons from what I've seen, though I saw one catch a mouse in Deptford a few years back.
They look like the mice that lives in the Berlin S-Bahn, except the S-Bahn mice have larger ears, but they are really tiny. Probably beause that way they can pass through the gates meant to bar normal sized mice.
Hey Chloe, I'd contact local charities in your area and see what they've got going on. The well known ones like wildlife trusts and rspb, but also any community ones, just like the Ealing Wildlife Group - check out ecologytraining.co.uk/ - they can help you make a career of it :) , - let me know if you need any help!
@@chloeoconnor8087 oh and also i've partnered with ecology training so if you do buy an online course use discount code 10leavecurious and you'll get 10% off - worth doing if you do!
They're like Hobbits! "Hobbits Are Amazing Creatures. You Can Learn All There Is To Know About Their Ways In A Month, And Yet After A Hundred Years, They Can Still Surprise You." - Gandalf. "It Is the Small Things, Everyday Deeds of Ordinary Folk, That Keeps the Darkness at Bay." -Gandalf "If the world is going to heck in a handbasket, then gimme a hobbit and I'll save said world!!" Gandalf (probably not- but hey)
yeah this got me thinking, i looked it up and couldn't find anything. I guess they would jump off if it did hurt, plus the whole plant doesn't sting and tiny paws might be able to dodge the spines?
May I introduce to you: The family Mouse. Mickey, Minnie, Maria, Monster, Marmelade, Mister, Missy, Marina…. 10 hours later… and this little fellow, the great-great-great-greatish grandson of Mickey and Minnie, Mortimer. If you come back day after tomorrow I’ll also introduce Mortimer’s babies to you. This mouse introduction is hard work.
Fantastic video, they really will increase the carrying capacity of the local food chain! It would be incredible to have more projects like this across the US, UK and Europe. (of course with native species)
It’s so funny to watch, as here in Australia we are being over run by the humble field mouse, after a 10 year drought the broke almost 2 years ago now the mouse and rat population has exploded due to the abundance of food around for them. But the biggest problem is the mice have infested the bales of hay and the grain storage which has made it all unusable. One farmer caught a full 40 gallon drum of mice in just one night alone. It takes 3-4 years for the numbers to drop back down to where they are no longer considered a plague issue. We are just going into the 3rd year now and with this winter being colder it will help to drop their numbers down again. But they do have a place in the ecosystem always have done, this is why I don’t use poison and why it’s live capture and release.😊
I see you have that dam "cleavers" weed there. It's only been around my area in Washington State for the past 5 years or so. Pretty soon it will be the only plant around.
@@kellygalvin7775 I read that people can eat it too. And that the Swedes use the berry's to make coffee. As the plant is high in caffeine. It's also in the coffee family.
It's a silly idea to release them in London! As the Rat snakes! Are back in London now and theres loads so there just gonna be snacks for those snakes!
Yes they're an important part of the food chain, feeding lots of predators. I'm not sure where the pellets were from, but they certainly would help inform us.
Yeah, its a bit sad to think that some of their fate will be sealed... but theres plenty of them and hopefully a sustainable population can be established!
Considering that rats are so much bigger they can probably set out traps that will catch the rats but that these tiny guys can just walk over without triggering it.
