A VULNERABLE, diminishing species may be making a quiet comeback in the Pembrokeshire National Park.

A NEW monitoring project in restored woodland at Pentre Ifan in North Pembrokeshire has revealed signs of dormouse activity - encouraging as recent studies show the population has declined by more than 70 per cent since the year 2,000.

Volunteers from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority have been trained through the Nature Networks Programme-funded Cysylltu Natur 25x25 project, delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government.

The volunteers used specially designed footprint tunnels to detect signs of the native hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius). The method, developed by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, uses harmless ink pads inside plastic tunnels to capture the distinctive ‘pizza-slice’ footprints left behind by the dormice.

The tunnels were set up in July 2025, following earlier nest box checks that had found only limited evidence of dormice near the eastern edge of the reserve. Over the course of the summer and early autumn, volunteers recorded dormouse footprints in over half the tunnels – with signs that the animals were becoming more active and ranging more widely as the season progressed.

Shortly after the footprint project ended, a female dormouse was found in a nearby nest box.

The hazel dormouse is a legally protected species in the UK, listed as Vulnerable on the Mammal Society’s Red List, and subject to biodiversity and habitat conservation legislation.

Mary Chadwick is Conservation Officer at Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. She said: “These findings are a big step forward in understanding how dormice are using the woodland at Pentre Ifan. [They reflect] the National Park’s importance as a safe haven for species that are disappearing from much of the UK – and shows that when habitats are restored, wildlife can return.”