A BRITISH charity is calling for volunteers to help survey water voles as part of national effort to save Britain’s fastest declining mammal.

Wildlife conservation charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is looking for individuals to spare some time to survey for water voles across England, Scotland and Wales as part of ongoing national efforts to save this endearing yet endangered species.

Emily Luck, water vole officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species, said: “Water voles hold the unfortunate title of Britain’s fastest declining mammal and are listed as Endangered on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals, reflecting the seriousness of their decline. Since the 1970s populations have plummeted by an alarming 90 per cent because of habitat loss, fragmentation, and predation from non-native American mink.”

The charity is asking for support from Tuesday, April 15, until Sunday, June 15, to help them discover how the water vole populations are changing, where they remain and where they’ve been lost.

Emily added: “This is crucial as it allows us to understand how we can help by restoring degraded rivers, improving connectivity between wetlands and controlling invasive American mink.”

Volunteers can choose from more than 700 pre-selected riverbank sites, or a new site can be registered if there isn’t a pre-selected option close by.

‘Vole-unteers’ are asked to visit their chosen site in search of water voles or the tell-tale signs that they’re present (such as burrows in the riverbank, tic-tac sized droppings, footprints or the characteristic ‘plop’ as they enter the water), and record their findings online.

Taking part requires no previous experience, and PTES offers free ID guides and online training to get started.

To become a water ‘vole-unteer’, or to find out more and access free training, visit www.ptes.org/watervoles