A RARE rodent rapidly disappearing from riverbanks around the country has been given a fighting chance of survival in Eden.

Eighty water voles were re-introduced to tributaries, streams and waterways in Sandford Mire, near Warcop, on Tuesday to help boost their dwindling population.

Predators such as the American Mink, foxes and herons are the main cause of falling vole numbers, as well as intensive farming which ruins vegetation.

The Cumbria Water Vole Project hopes that by controlling water levels, the voles will be given plenty of vegetation to hide in from predators.

The project will provide food for the voles for the first three weeks of re-introduction. Volunteers are also keeping tabs of the rodents’ movements after microchipping them.

“We are doing the release to try to encourage the population in Cumbria,” said Alison Reed, who is heading the Cumbria Water Vole Project, which is being run in partnership by Eden Rivers Trust and Cumbria Wildlife Trust. “The project is coming to an end so this is the final chance of re-introducing them.

“Water voles are the fastest declining mammal in Britain. They’re an indicator of a habitat of good health.

“It’s like the red squirrel - they’re a mammal that’s gone missing from our countryside and we don’t want to lose the last remnants that we’ve got.

“Today’s gone really well, we’ve got 25 volunteers that have come along to put all the cages out and get the voles released.

“I am really happy to be seeing them out in the wild where they should be. I’ve been looking after them for a year so I just want to give them the best chance of survival.”

A camera crew from the BBC’s Springwatch programme was also present for the release of the voles. Presenter Martin Hughes-Games believes the vole needs our help.

“They are possibly in the most desperate of straits of any British mammal. There were seven million of them in the 1970’s and at the last count there were just 200,000.

“It was our (mankind) fault that the American Mink got out there because we brought them over. I think we’ve got a moral duty to help because we caused this.”

Springwatch plan to show their water vole episode in June.