 | The Winslade Wildlife Sanctuary |
The Winslade Wildlife Sanctuary is unique in North Devon, it was established in 1987 with the aim of treating injured, shocked, cruelly treated, orphaned and otherwise distressed wild birds and animals native to this country. We prioritise in returning these creatures back to their natural environment with a preference to the particular area in which they were found.
At present one of the casualties we are caring for is a dormouse which was inadvertently disturbed during her winter hibernation and is now safe and snug in an incubator until she can be safely released. In mid January we received a phone call from a gentleman who had just knocked down his stable and had found her at the bottom!! He was very concerned that she had suffered injuries and was concerned where to put her as her home was under the demolished stable. He kindly took her to the Torridge Veterinary centre where she was given a check for any breaks or internal injuries and (miraculously) she had none. After an overnight stay she was brought to the sanctuary for convalescing.
This adorable creature instantly found a place in all our hearts. She was placed into an incubator, inside a woolly hat to replace her nest, where she promptly fell to sleep. Dormice hibernate for long periods over the Winter months, and it is about now, late March/early April, that they are beginning to awaken. Our little dormouse had been disturbed from a deep sleep, however, she has spent the past few weeks sleeping, then coming out for food when she can no longer resist all those tasty hazelnuts (a dormouse caviar).
Soon our little dormouse will be released to a monitored site in a specially made dormouse house. These little creatures surprisingly spend a lot of time high up in the woodland canopy and are quite adept at jumping from branch to branch like miniature squirrels. We wish her well after all the disturbance she has been through.
If you would like to know more about your local wildlife sanctuary please feel free to contact us and we will send you a leaflet. Telephone: 01237451550.