Support this rewilding project and many more by becoming a member at Mossy Earth! mossy.earth/?referral=LEAVECURIOUS

@brucealanwilson4121

Ай бұрын

Wascthat the species of Rat in "The Wind in the Willows"?

@Weirdisjustabrownandyellowword

Ай бұрын

Is there anything I can do to help besides donating? Are you looking for volunteers?

@ChrisCokeRobinson

Ай бұрын

I thought water rats were a problem..

@Weirdisjustabrownandyellowword

Ай бұрын

@@ChrisCokeRobinson You hear the word rat and you immediately think problem. Why do people hate rats so much? I'm not even sure these are actual rats.

@Kaczyfunny

Ай бұрын

There are several rewilding project. You reported about beaver releasing too. Are the waterdogs and beavers competitors to each others?

Thank you for covering this project Rob! It is amazing to see how quickly they have spread :) - Cheers, Duarte

@Hungary_0987

Ай бұрын

yoooo

“What is my purpose?” “You feed owls.” “Oh. My. God.”

@Eligio1234567

Ай бұрын

I see what you did there lol

@cosmicreef5858

28 күн бұрын

No they LIVE THAT is their ourpose No living being is an object

@BlooCollaGal

27 күн бұрын

@@cosmicreef5858 Every living being is food for another living being. There is purpose beyond life.

@goofsphere1

24 күн бұрын

@@cosmicreef5858sit down unc it was a joke

@Eligio1234567

24 күн бұрын

@@cosmicreef5858 tell that to their predators lol

Alongside the venerable beaver, these little creatures can return our biodiversity and natural health.

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Yeah exactly, two key species for our wetlands, which we need more of!

@kernowconservation5080

Ай бұрын

Yes absolutely!

@blue2mato312

22 күн бұрын

Modern agriculture is one of the most destructive factors to ecology across much of the earth. Together with destruction of habitat for creating spaces and roads for humans. It all ties into our overpopulation. Modern forestry as well, to cut down whole areas instead of plucking out trees. I don’t know how we can avoid global ecological disaster. Our best chance would actually be to help out the poorest populations in Africa and Asia so they don’t need or want so many children, but that would mean sharing our wealth in the west and keep corruption out both here and there. I do love every effort to help species and habitats though, thank you ❤.

@ZishaTV

12 күн бұрын

@@blue2mato312 No

@blue2mato312

10 күн бұрын

@@ZishaTV No what?

I've retired now, but when I was kid I'd fish the river Frome along the Chalford valley. Water voles were everywhere munching away on reeds and rushes. I loved to see them but pretty much took them for granted. Then one day I found a dead Swan cygnet that had been half devoured by something A couple of days later, nearby, I saw my first mink skulking along the far bank. Since then the Valley has died. The river and canal have all but dried up, the millions of sticklebacks are gone, the trout have all but disappeared and you no longer hear any munching water voles. Sad times indeed.

@someblokecalleddave1

Ай бұрын

You can thank the anti-fur brigade for your Mink introduction. They used to raid the Mink farms and let the bloody things free without giving a thought to the consequences. They're the same sort of people that think its no big deal to have a cat and let it free to go around decimating the local small mammals and birds.

@geronimo5537

29 күн бұрын

Welcome to liberal thinking where its illegal to keep your own local wildlife as pets. But legal to important animals from other countries. Because they cannot sustain themselves in your country is the logic. The sad truth is life is not so simple. Every western country is experiencing this failed concept due to law drafted in the early 1900s. Including many invasive species wrecking out ecosystems in the US as well. Practically all animals explode in population in human care. The cost is your local wildlife.

@ulalaFrugilega

29 күн бұрын

Wow, you saw it all happening! I remember hanging out by the small river near our village, lying on overhanging branches and watch the water rats swim by majestically. Peaceful days, long ago.

I think as well as congratulating Mossy Earth, a hearty congratulations needs to go to the land owner for allowing this project to happen. Here in Australia we need to have private sector teams such as this, we absolutely need it!

@RP-ws8fl

Ай бұрын

Have you heard of Nature Glenelg Trust. They do really similar work in Australia. They don't do videos but their newsletter shows off the fantastic work they do with landscape restoration etc

@evguenikrassavine5918

29 күн бұрын

When there was wildfires in Australia, did they asked a permit to go through private lands? When humans shit on a planet, they dont ask permit to create bad... why they need one to create good?

I love to see these continuation- or update videos of projects that have been going on for years :) It's so rewarding to see

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Oh for sure, sometimes it takes a few years to really see change :)

Back in the 60’s, as a child I “rescued” a water vole and suffered the same to my finger. I thought it was my friend 🤭

@tylociraptor8131

Ай бұрын

I get regular voles in my garden and sometimes they get caught in the divot by my window, so I have to rescue them. Glad I ended up grabbing my carving (knife protection) gloves to do it, cuz lil guys are vicious!

Does the name water rats cause unjust negative publicity? They were very widespread when I was a child and it’s lovely to see them thriving.

@NS-pz8nb

Ай бұрын

Most likely. In Australia, we have similar rodents who used to also be called water rats, but an Aboriginal name for them, rakali, was adopted because of the negative connotation with the name water rat

@astuart101

Ай бұрын

I always knew them as water voles and it was a delight when we could spot one on the rare occasion.

@masatosway4558

Ай бұрын

After seeing this channel, www.youtube.com/@ShadowTheRat rats no longer have negative connotations for me.

@The_Captain40k

20 күн бұрын

I think the video title is designed to get clicks from people wondering why someone would release rats into the environment. They're usually called voles, not rats.

@papa_pt

19 күн бұрын

NYC ruined rats for me

They're actually called water voles, the word "water rat" refers exclusively to the genus Hydromys, water voles are members of the hamster family, while the water rats are part of the old world mouse and rat family.

That bite looked horrible, they have such sharp teeth. Glad you are giving them a new chance in living in a great habitat. Thanks guys 👍💪✌

Really enjoyed the presenter's enthusiasm. It seemed really genuine

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

:) well it be wrong to fake it!

Good to see all update. The whole area looks to be thriving.

I spent a couple of months putting out food for a water vole I'd see by the River Barrow here in Carlow Ireland 🇮🇪, then I found out we don't have water voles in Ireland, so I guess I'd just been feeding a rat.

@yeahokbuddy2510

Ай бұрын

Hell yeah man :) little Remmy was mighty pleased with you

@VVilde36

Ай бұрын

think of it like this! You generated that rats fat offspring times X amount by feeding it and giving it an edge, so you've actually fed plenty of larger predators in the absence of the water vole. Some hawke or owl was undoubtedly happy you got confused sometime down the line

Donated to this project when it was first launched, glad to see them thriving, love water voles ❤

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Thanks for the donation, it makes it all possible :)

Reading Enid Blyton's Children of Cherry Tree Farm, and it seems we've got a lot less habitat and species than we used to have.

Hoping to see them on the River Dart wetlands

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

That make the area even more epic, I’m not sure if they’re close by or not

Back in the 60s as a young kid, these voles were everywhere on the River Dean in Woodford Cheshire, unfortunately now never seen one😢

Well done to everyone. Thank you

Its great to see this crucial species getting spread through out waterways and doing well. Good job Rob and Mossy Earth backers

Congratulations! It must be a rewarding feeling to see your hard work pay off so successfully.

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Well Done to everyone involved!

Well done mossy earth will have to keep an eye on them.!

Lean hard on the Wind in the Willows connection.

As a new Mossy Earth member this pleases me to see

Superb update Rob. Thanks On behalf of water voles everywhere, thanks for giving a new release the opportunity to practise it's defence mechanisms in safety! Two years .... already?? Doesn't seem possible it was that long ago .

@solarpunkalana

Ай бұрын

I have absolutely no idea how two years have already passed since the release. Crazy times

Have been following for years. You are truly coming into your own in reporting and sharing of knowledge and experience. Thanks as always for all ya'll do

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

thanks :)

These are just up the road/river from me- about 4 miles away. I didn't realise they had made it so far from the release site- I'm going to have to go and look for poo piles

Such good news about these little animals. If you read Derek Gow's excellent book, "Birds, Beasts and Bedlam", you will find quite a lot more about them. I hope that the mink trapping programme is extended to allow the voles to move further afield. Of course, there will need to be a lot of work done on Britian's disgustingly polluted waterways, too. Start petitioning the Labour Party now!

Didn’t know about these lil guys till I saw a video from Mossy Earth on water voles- but these creatures are amazing, I’m so happy you guys are working to bring them back:))

I wonder if calling them voles in the title would get better engagement or worse, because people universally hate rats.

@zebedeemadness2672

Ай бұрын

I would say using Vole would have been more beneficial to the video, Water Rat is a minority common name, not often used personally i've never heard it used in person, Water vole is a apt name that Water rat needs never be used, after all true Voles and kin and true Rats and kin, are of two totally different families. Using Vole definitely wouldn't be worse, people are more inclined to see Voles as cute over Rats (although Rats don't deserve the negative just for being successful), also there's people that don't even know what Voles are and there curiosity of finding out what they are could make them watch. Using the Word Rat may make some people that skim read, see Rat and move on.

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

yeah great question, there's so much to consider when writing titles & making thumbnails. this and coming up with ideas is a huge part of making videos. generally speaking, a title should use words that can be recognized by a wide variety of people, create emotion & most importantly spark curiosity. with this one, we tested the water rat concept at mossy earth & it worked very well - so far this video is doing great for leave curious too - CTR is better when compared to other videos. as for the negativity around rats and that putting people off, I don't agree with it. much like wolves had been portrayed in the past as villains, I think it is wrong to villianise rats.

Where I grew up in Fife, there were lots of water voles, stiklebacks, small trout, minnows, caddice flies and lots of green weed. Now the local streams (burns in Scotland) are clear, effluent stinking and dead.

@magnumxlpi

13 күн бұрын

There's lots of green weed here 😎

This is great news! Ive heard there's successful trapping of mink in Norfolk and Suffolk, will water voles be reintroduced there as well? Thanks for these updates, so happy to be a Mossy Earth member.

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Should think so yes!!

@framingwildlife

Ай бұрын

@thomvarey There is no need, water voles are recovering on their own. I work for a project called Waterlife Recovery Trust, as lead project officer for Norfolk, and so far this year we have not caught any mink in either Norfolk or Suffolk, with only 7 in Norfolk and 4 in Suffolk caught last year. Prior to that we would catch several and even though Waterlife Recovery Trust is a fairly new charity we have had a mink control program running in Norfolk and Suffolk for over 20 years, so we have been able to stop mink completely wiping out the water voles here, and because of the efforts of many volunteers over those years those surviving water voles are now rapidly spreading on their own. We record all sites with water voles and the map is showing their population spread very well. Reintroduction of water voles is only really needed if there are no close colonies which can then spread once mink are removed, it can also not be beneficial to reintroduce water voles into an area where there might be other water vole colonies because you can dilute the genetics of those colonies, the genetics of local colonies can vary quite a lot from place to place. If you google Waterlife Recovery Trust you can find out lots of info.

@solarpunkalana

Ай бұрын

water voles are naturally recolonising norfolk + suffolk due to the mink trapping going on there so doubt they will be reintroduced... best to follow the water life trust to see their mink eradication project there

Thanks!

I love this work people are doing, it warms my heart to see species brought back to where they belong and all the benefits that come with that.

Most of our farms have become agricultural factories, instead of a place that farms life for life.

@teresahiggs4896

Ай бұрын

That’s happened in the US as well. It’s Agribusiness and it’s criminal what Agribusiness has done to family farms and to so many of our animals and their habitats. .

@Nphen

6 күн бұрын

@@teresahiggs4896 In America, millions of acres are wasted on ethanol for corn. There are millions of acres of lawns, parks, and cities that could be used to grow vegetables. Blame the Farm Bill and Monsanto/Bayer and they fund all the studies for all the agricultural schools. I want to build a refuge like the one in the video, but I fear they're band-aids on late stage capitalism. Hemp could help reduce pressure on millions of acres being over-farmed by cotton, corn, rice, soy. We need to get through to our local state ag colleges & communities.

This is amazing and congratulations to everyone involved! Also I'm 80% sure I spotted a water vole at the lake in Ferry Meadows in Peterborough so yay!

Love Voles. Theyre a very underrated animal. Wonder if the reintroduction of other predators would kill and eat the mink. Those so called work gloves are useless ive never done any work with them when i didnt get spiked lol. Ready made landfill.

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Yeah that be interesting to see what could get them… an ye gloves are hopeless.

@ajaxtelamonian5134

Ай бұрын

@@LeaveCurious Think in Yellowstone they found the wolves ate them. But I guess that wouldn't be realistic lol

@theotheseaeagle

Ай бұрын

@@ajaxtelamonian5134 otters will compete with and sometimes kill the invasive american mink. But the only really reliable way of controlling them is trapping to prevent their spread. It’s not just water voles they kill but native fish, threatened waterbirds and amphibians

Love Mossy Earth projects!

Wow, two years? Time really does fly. I’m glad to see that the voles are fulfilling their roles in their ecosystems to bring back the natural balance in a land that was so heavily influenced by man that it no longer holds the memory of what it once was. Therefore, the work done here is critical for not only the entire British isle, but to the entire world, as well. Keep up the good work.

Keep it rolling :-) !

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Will do !

Wonderful and crucial work y'all are doing. Wishing you success in all these endeavors❤👍

I live in Arizona in the American southwest. 🌵 This environment is pretty much the opposite of that lush, well-watered ex-farm. However, you guys solved a puzzle I had. I wondered why I would find a spot in the yard with droppings when nowhere else had any. Apparently other creatures use “latrines” to mark territory. I don’t know which creature is doing this, though. I get rabbits, squirrels, and the occasional pack rat.

I remember these little fella's everywhere around the Village I live in, lots of little streams and then a bridge over the bye pass was built and they vanished very quickly! so sad!

Here in Australia we have the Rakali, a water rat which is a real character. I have had one attack and steal a perch I was reeling in. They are always on the lookout for a feed, and bread and worms are high on their list of favourites, so I have to watch my bait while fishing, or lose it 😄

@tylociraptor8131

Ай бұрын

I just googled them and oh my god they're beautiful!

@AndrewFishman

Ай бұрын

@@tylociraptor8131 I have a couple of vids, including the one that gave me a tug of war over the perch lol and one begging handouts and getting hand fed.

@SchoolforHackers

Ай бұрын

@@AndrewFishmanI would love to see that!

@AndrewFishman

Ай бұрын

@@SchoolforHackers you can :)

@SchoolforHackers

Ай бұрын

@@AndrewFishman 😂 Did you get your lure back?

Lovely video Rob, great to see the voles doing so well in Cornwall.

Great project! Well done everyone. I’m happy to be a Mossy Earth supporter 👍

Great channel!! Keep up the great work. Please bring some water voles to Reading!

the water voles are so incredibly cute! lovely footage of them enjoying their environment. it’s brings me joy to think of these creatures building their burrows, swimming and eating (and being eaten), fulfilling their role in an ecosystem that’s missed them.

How in-vole-uble to the environment. You guys rule

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Good one!

Is this the species of 'the Wind in the Willows' Ratty?

@kernowconservation5080

26 күн бұрын

Yes it is!

The most exciting thing is seeing the way their prescence will begin to affect the whole system - the changing composition of waterway flora, the increased number of predators etc

Wonderful update, thank you!!!

We have some here in VIC AUS which are also endangered. I caught one in a fishing net once and was convinced it was a platypus as their webbed feet are identical but it turned out being a rat which I immediately let back out. It was a great experience nonetheless.

love the followup so cool

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Yup :) nice when it works out

I love your presenting style and video format and structure! Keep making these please :)

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Ah thanks very much. I’ve been focused a lot on developing the format lately, so I appreciate the feedback!

thanks for letting us know not to attempt giving them dental inspections THANK YOU for looking after them

Great update Rob

Saw one of these round where I live (thought it was a fat rat). In just few years they have expanded past the wildlife reserve they were released into and seem to be well fed to say the least :)

i would probably have agreed with them at the time (when i was young) but how silly.... it was the animal rights people who released the mink hey!!! There were loads of water voles on the River Derwent in Yorkshire when i was young, until the mink arrived.

yellow flag iris seems to be incredibly dominant and kinda out of control in many ponds and riversides I see so it's interesting to hear that water voles used to help control these plants

i love the explanation of the ecological impact they have. great video!

Love the updates!

Great video! Thank you.

Great information thank-you. We haven't had any tree talks for a while please could we have one 🌳

Well you know what they say no good deed goes unpunished.

I used to see them all the time when i was a lad, but then there were otters on the river i fished.

This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌

Thank you!!!!

Great update Rob, a pleasure to have you here again!

Where I used to go birdwatching in the 1970's, Water Voles used to be 10 a penny - all over the shop (West Tilbury marshes, Essex). With the Mink it's funny how you just say 'They got loose' without saying how... The majority of them were let loose by people who disagreed with them being bred for making mink coats and instead of going about things the right way they chose to raid the Mink farms and let the things free. Anyone at the time who actually cared about animals knew that the release of the Mink would have an impact. Once I started working I no longer went walking around the marshes, so as far I know, there may be loads of them still there? But I do recall as my birdwatching days come to an end I did start seeing Mink in the area. Other than that the farming practice in the area is very similar. I should go and have a look .

Great work!

Keep Rewilinding people , and donate where you cant or simply leave your grass long if you cant donate!

It’s lovely to see the populations recovering with a little TLC 🥰

It is a progression. Higher yields per acre translates to fewer acres needed to feed everyone. And when the UK struggled to feed itself…

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Nothing is progressive if it’s not regenerative

@juliaforsyth8332

Ай бұрын

I think the UK could feed itself but the public expect too variety and have become spoilt. plus a lot is exported and there would be the income loss.

@Blackadder75

Ай бұрын

Most of the land is used to feed animals, not humans, and then we eat some of the animals, a very inefficient food chain. Look, I like my bacon and sausages as much as anybody, but it's just not sustainable. You can better make more greenhouses to produce lots of food on small acres and eat more fruits and plants. (I won't become a vegan though, I will take the middle route and eat less meat but not nothing.

Love this channel and being a member

Wonderful, worthy work, and I doubt whether there are many people who can boast a Water Vole scar!

Cute little buggers glad you have them back

What can I do to help around my area? {Ireland}

@LeaveCurious

Ай бұрын

Talk about rewilding with your friends and community, be active in the spaces that you own and try and get a group project going with neighbours and like minded others - I’ll make a vid on this

@messagegoeshere741

Ай бұрын

Planting native flowers and berries in your gardens to help the wildlife is a good idea. Setting out a butterfly wateringhole. Cutting back on using pesticides that are harmful.

I watched and gave a gift - felt like I did a little thing, I enjoy the positivity and videos.

lol and sympathy on the bite…I had a pet hamster who bit my finger to the bone…rodents can be bitey! Wonderful work. Congrats from the USA.

Excellent!

It's Ratty!!! did you find his little boat, the Mole????

Saw one of these whilst hiking along a river on Dartmoor, scared the life outta me

I hope your finger got well again !!! ❤😊🙏

quick commen to support how i can :) keep up the great work, i love following the projects here on YT

congrats to you and mossy earth

It may be necessary to leave a dead zone to separate recovering areas. Seems like once an area is wiped out, the invasive species seem to leave as well. Keeping them separated will give nature a chance to regain a few strongholds.

Great to see this project's success so far! I am curious though, are there long term plans to deal with the mink? The fact that the introduction area was vole free implies that minks wiped out the original population and then left when the food dried up. What's to stop minks from re-invading the area now that their favorite food is back?

As a Canadian, I've never heard of water voles. They remind me a bit of muskrats here in North America (though voles look to be a lot smaller) who occupy something like the same ecological niche.

So awesome. What kinds of animals and bugs has this project affected?

looks like a muskrat

Great video, it had me researching water vole UK & muskrat. UK released voles b/c of US mink; US areas lost wild mink, booming muskrat population, causing a negative impact. Thus, crazy as it sounds, US trained mink to help control muskrat overpopulation. (Joseph Carter, the Mink man)

Thanks

If I had money to spend, ESPECIALLY if I was rich, THIS is the type of thing that I would donate to. That said, I have no money, but I love what you do! And will strive to do the same for my local species and nature in general. Thriving nature is my favorite thing to experience.

Here in the Southern US, our water rat is the Nutria. Fertile and extremely destructive--cities regularly have hunts to eradicate them. Good Luck.

Their Czech name is Hryzec, which rougly translates to "the bitter" - as in "to bite", not the bitter taste. Seems like a more fitting name to me haha

Lovely...😍

Amazing job! I love to help you guys with those of projects. But i cant because i life in the netherlands

The mink 'got loose', did they?

This is great but what will he done about the American mink?