Fox threatens reintroduced dormice on Suur-Pakri island

A fox has appeared on Suur-Pakri, an island chosen for the reintroduction of Estonia’s native dormice, ERR’s Ringvaade reported. The predator could threaten the 20 animals released there this summer.

“When we left a few weeks ago, more than half of the 20 animals released there were certainly still alive,” ecologist Marko Mägi said. He described the result as surprisingly good for animals from a small zoo and said the team remained hopeful that some could survive until spring.

Dormice are small animals with short lifespans that may fall prey to predators during winter, even though they hibernate. “We do not know whether, or how many of them, will see daylight again in spring,” Mägi said.

Suur-Pakri was selected because it was believed to have no predators. Researchers inspected the island last autumn and found no predators that threatened dormice. However, a harsh winter froze the sea, allowing a fox to cross the ice to the island.

The fox was discovered on the island this summer through a trail camera, and people also saw it moving through the woods. The researchers are now waiting to see whether the fox or the dormice prevail.

Dormice are active at night and readily climb trees, where the fox cannot follow them. Their paths could still cross, Mägi said. The island also has many other small rodents that are likely to interest the fox more, but a dormouse would be “a real delicacy” for it.

Dormice are native to Estonia but disappeared as a result of human activity. The exact cause is unknown. The last dormouse was seen in the wild in 1986, and the animal also disappeared from the wild in neighbouring countries.