One of Britain’s rare mammals

Barry Yates
, 03 April 2025
One of Britain’s rare mammals
Water Vole © Barry Yates

Barry Yates

Chair of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

We are lucky to have one of Britain’s rarest mammals, living in the wetlands around Rye, but few people ever notice them. The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. One of the main characters was Ratty, who was a Water Vole – smaller ears and more rounded nose than rats. Water Voles eat wetland plants and live in rivers and ditches with good reed growth and in reedbeds. They usually live in a tunnel, just above water level.

This charismatic animal has declined in Britain by 90% in the last 30 years and they have been fully protected by laws introduced in 2008. The reasons for such a dramatic decline have been the introduced predator, American Mink, combined with fragmented wetland habitat. However, in the wetlands around Rye, there are still good populations, and this is for two reasons: lots of good wetland habitat that is connected by a network of ditches and there has been a widespread effort by several people to reduce American Mink numbers by trapping them. Good places for them are Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Pett Level and Walland Marsh.

Water Voles are mainly nocturnal and are eaten by Grey Heron, Barn Owl, Bittern and Marsh Harrier, so they are not easy to see. However, they do leave distinctive latrines with rounded droppings and with short lengths of reed with an angled end. Trail cameras can be used to monitor them and they can be attracted with apples.

Water Vole latrine
Water Vole latrine © Barry Yates

The good news is that a project has just started that can eradicate American Mink from across south-east England. This follows the success of a pioneering project in East Anglia, where Water Vole numbers are now increasing. This eradication of American Mink will also help many wetland breeding birds, such as Kingfisher, Sand Martin, Little Grebe, Water Rail and Moorhen.

Find out more here. If you are able to help with this project, whether that's hosting a trap on your land, reporting a sighting or if you capture an American Mink, please get in touch at [email protected]

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Sussex Wildlife Trust are already monitoring and controlling American Mink at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and are collaborating with the Waterlife Recovery Trust. We intend to participate in their eradication project both at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, and elsewhere, once there is the capacity to expand it into our area. 

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