The protected species which inspired one of the most loved characters in children’s literature – Ratty from The Wind In The Willows – is under threat as drought hits its natural habitat.
Kenneth Grahame is said to have written his children’s classic after spotting a water vole beside the River Pang, near his Berkshire home.
In his fertile imagination, the rodent became the erudite Ratty, a creature of leisure, sharing adventures with his friends, including the infamous Toad of Toad Hall.
But a stretch of the Pang near the Duchess of Cambridge’s childhood home in Bucklebury is drying out, exposing the water voles’ burrows and leaving the creatures vulnerable to predators.
Instead of being able to swim safely through underwater entrances to their riverbank nests, water voles can now be easily seized for food by stoats, weasels, American mink, owls and herons.
Experts warn of potential disaster for the vole if the current drought persists and people squander precious freshwater supplies – especially as new water vole litters are about to be born.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2116569/Ratty-risk-drought-leaves-easy-prey-enemies-Fears-wildlife-picturesque-stretch-river-inspired-Wind-In-The-Willows.html#ixzz1pYqMaSQ8
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