Drought risks killing off British wildlife

Following the driest 18 months on record for some parts of the country, streams and rivers are drying up leaving insects, fish, mammals and amphibians fighting for survival. Newly hatched tadpoles of frogs, toads and newts are under threat while wading birds such as snipe, curlew and lapwings will suffer from a lack of moist soils in which to find food such as worms for themselves and their young. In drought-affected areas, some streams, ponds and shallow lakes are likely to dry up before aquatic insects such as dragonflies have taken wing, which will cause them to perish, experts claim. Water voles will be at greater risk from predators such as stoats and weasels as falling water levels in ditches and streams leave their waterline burrows exposed. Rivers such as the Pang, home to Wind In The Willows' water vole Ratty, have already dried up in places.