From the start of July until the end of September 2004, Mammals Trust UK will be running its annual ‘Mammals On Roads’ survey, asking motorists and cyclists to record the number of animals, both alive and dead, that they see on road journeys. The survey aims to increase our understanding of how British mammals are faring, allowing figures to be compared year to year and changes in the abundance or distribution of species to be monitored.
The survey is a great way to occupy travellers’ time on long journeys. A number of last year’s volunteers contacted MTUK 
to voice their interest in the study and to express how much they had enjoyed taking part .
“It was great to be able to while away the hours in the car doing something useful and interesting” said one keen traveller,
whilst another was happy to report the positive effect it had on her children, stating “My kids take a far more active interest in animals and wildlife now”.
Sad as it is to see dead mammals on our roads, they have been shown to give us a good indication of the number of living animals in an area, tracking changes and allowing us to see where we need to focus conservation efforts. Previous years’ results have suggested that hedgehog populations are falling, particularly in the north of England , and we are keen to find out if this trend is continuing, so that we undertake steps to help halt any further decline in numbers. In addition to hedgehogs, over half of the UK ’s 54 species of land mammals have been recorded, including badgers, deer, squirrels and foxes.
We need your help . For the past three years, volunteers have helped with the survey by counting wild mammals that they see on journeys of over 20 miles (but not those in built-up areas or along dual carriage-ways and motorways). Last year over eighty thousand miles were surveyed, and over ten thousand mammals sighted. This year we hope to involve more people than ever to get an even more detailed picture of our mammal populations all over the UK .
HOW T O JOIN IN
If you are interested in taking part in this exciting survey or would like to find out more, please call Mammals Trust UK on 020 7498 5262 or email mor@mtuk.org
Mammals Trust UK is a restricted fund of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, and is dedicated to working in partnership with voluntary organisations, wildlife experts, government and industry to conserve wild mammals and their habitats throughout the British Isles .
