Jo Grundy Night skies are where we can look up at the stars, rather than endless street lamps, neon signs, sports stadium floodlights, billboards, car park light and glass building lights. 80% of people now live under ‘skyglow’ (with 99% of people in Europe and the US not enjoying a night sky). Lit areas to…
native wildlife
help our sleepy little dormice
Image Dormice are the longest hibernators, often having some shut-eye for 7 months or more, although they are very active when awake, and do incredible ‘long-jumps’ that would put Olympic athletes to shame. Named after the French word for ‘sleep’, dormice are tiny creatures (not mice) that are related to squirrels and beavers. The reason…
why bats are brilliant (not scary)
image Bats are our only flying mammals. They don’t suck your blood, land in your hair (and rarely give anyone rabies – the only people at risk are bat rescuers who are aware, and wear gloves). Bats are not blind, but don’t have good eyesight. So they navigate by echo-location, which is a pretty cool…
how to help hibernating mammals
Eric Heyman England has three mammals that hibernate (dormice, hedgehogs and bats). Hibernation is not so much a deep sleep, more a state of slowing down the body temperature, heart rate and breathing to store energy, at a time when food is scarce (some creatures worldwide wake up to eat during hibernation). Warmer temperatures in…