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We are sad to announce that Abi has left the role of Programme Officer for the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group. 

Abi has been in post since May 2022 and was based at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Abi is moving on to a full-time position as an Ecologist for a local authority in the UK, but we are delighted to say that she will be staying on as a member of the group and will continue to contribute to a couple of different projects.

This month, after 13 years in the role, Tom is stepping down as the Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG). Here we look at some of the huge contributions and achievements Tom has made to the group over this period.

Tom replaced Don Wilson as the co-chair of the newly formed SMSG back in 2012, with his focus on developing small mammal work across the Americas. He served as co-chair first with Rich Young and more recently with Ros Kennerley. During his time as Co-Chair, Tom was a professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU), until his retirement a few years ago. Through academic connections and teams of students at TAMU, he oversaw the previous Global Mammal Assessment for the Americas.

Since his retirement from TAMU, Tom has been able to assist in the renewal of the Red List Partnership between TAMU and the SSC and promoted strong continued interest in the SMSG as well as assessment activities more widely, among faculty, staff, and administrators. The university has also renewed an agreement that Tom had previously negotiated with Re:wild to enhance capacity for both Red List and Green Status assessments.

In addition to his work for the SMSG, Tom has had many other engagements with the wider SSC activities. He first became engaged with the SSC when he was Executive Director of the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International in the early 2000s. He helped organise the funding of both the SSC Chair position (at the time Holly Dublin) as well as the first GMA (then under Simon Stuart) – so it has been nearly a quarter century of engagement! Tom also served on the Red List Committee from 2010 to 2023.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has just published its first update of the year (27th March 2025), including reassessments for many small mammal species submitted by the Small Mammal Specialist Group. This time around, most species stayed in the same category, with a handful moving to less threatened categories. Read about some of these species below.

Dusky Hopping-mouse (Notomys fuscus) – Near Threatened 

First up is this mouse found in Australia, which has been downlisted from Vulnerable to Near Threatened in the latest update. Despite the large historical declines in abundance and distribution, this is a good news story. Increases in the range and populations have been recorded in recent decades, due to effective control of invasive European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which had the knock-on effect of lowering cat (Felis catus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) numbers as they were no longer being sustained by high rabbit availability.

Photo credit: Boyd Essex, Wikimedia.

Wimmer’s Shrew (Crocidura wimmeri) – Vulnerable 

Wimmer’s Shrew – previously Critically Endangered – has been moved to Vulnerable status since new records have expanded the known distribution of this species. Found in Côte d’Ivoire and now also recorded in Ghana, this species is still under threat from land use change for agriculture, urbanisation, logging, and mining operations (both legal and illegal). The assessment highlights that research is needed to determine its trends, improve knowledge of its ecology, and measure the impact of threats. 

Photo credit: Dr. Jan Decher. Male and female from pitfall trap in Atewa, Ghana. 

Northern Chinese Flying Squirrel (Aeretes melanopterus) – Least Concern 

This species is endemic to mountainous forests in China between 1,200 and 3,000m above sea level. In the latest update it has been moved from Near Threatened to Least Concern, because there is no evidence that it is facing any severe threats and is considered to have a stable population. Whilst it does have a very large extent of occurrence (EOO), it is thought that it has a relatively low population size. Assessors highlighted that taxonomic research is needed to determine whether the two sub-species are distinct enough to be considered separate species. 

Image from G. Masson, 1868-1874, Recherches pour servir à l’histoire naturelle des mammifères.

Kenneth’s White-toothed Rat (Berylmys mackenziei) – Least Concern and Manipur White-toothed Rat (Berylmys manipulus) –  Least Concern 

In this update we also submitted two Berylmys species, moving them from Data Deficient to Least Concern. Both of these burrowing rodents appear to be widespread across parts of Asia, but likely face threats of habitat loss and possibly even hunting. Berylmys mackenziei  in particular remains under some taxonomic uncertainty, so further research is needed. 

Photo credit: from Dhananjoy, Ch., Ibemhal, A., Brajendra, N., Laishram, J.M. and Singh, C.B. (2011) Biodiversity of rat species in Manipur. NeBIO 2, 23-26. In image, top: B. mackenziei and bottom: B. manipulus.

The Iberian Desman

Desmans are semi-aquatic small mammals that are members of the Talpidae mole family. The Iberian Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, where it is restricted to Andorra, France, northern and central Spain, and northern Portugal.

The species is extremely well adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, where it mainly lives in fast-flowing mountain streams. The species favours watercourses where the margins offer some shelter, and it requires clean and well oxygenated water, mostly due to the requirements of its main prey, aquatic macroinvertebrates. It is therefore a good indicator species for healthy river systems.

It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, due to large declines in its range and populations. The main threat factors identified are the fragmentation and isolation of populations due to the construction of large dams and hydroelectric dams, water pollution, as well as the alteration of riverbanks and natural riparian vegetation. The disappearance of local populations may be due to predation by invasive non-native species such as the American mink (Neogale vison) and the recent range expansion of otters.

Setting the scene for a trans-national action plan 

In November 2023 in Andorra La Vella, a meeting was held to start the process of conservation planning, including by identifying major threats and summarising the evidence behind the declines. In the meeting we came up with a list of all the stakeholders that should be involved in the conservation of the species.

The event was organized by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN Med). IUCN Med, as part of its species conservation initiatives in the Mediterranean region, is working on this initiative after receiving a request from some interested parties to lead actions at a trans-national level. This is due to the importance of the cross-border approach in the protection of the remaining populations.

Desman trans-boundary action planning workshop 

In January 2025, more than 40 Iberian Desman experts from Andorra, Spain, France and Portugal met with other interested stakeholders to develop a trans-national conservation plan and define the urgent measures to prevent the extinction of this unique freshwater species.

Iberian Desman workshop group photo 2025

The workshop was held in Madrid and organised by IUCN Med with the support of MITECO. The workshop was facilitated by the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG).

Iberian Desman workshop about to kick-off!

Outcomes included: 

• The development of a trans-boundary strategic vision to guide conservation actions for the species.  

• A detailed prioritisation and zoning analysis of specific threats was carried out for each identified population cluster.  

• A fundamental part of the process was to set clear objectives, concrete actions and define the key actors involved in the implementation of the trans-boundary strategy.  

• A multidisciplinary committee was formed to facilitate the coordination and monitoring of conservation activities across countries. Their main role will be the prioritisation, promotion and coordination of conservation actions for the species throughout its range. 

Iberian Desman workshop day 1

The potential role for ex-site measures in the action plan 

Within the workshop, a separate group was set up to talk through the potential roles for ex-situ conservation. This is certainly a challenging species for ex-situ actions because, whilst it has been kept well, it has never been successfully bred in captivity.

The group included representatives from ADEFFA (the only facility where the species is currently kept in captivity), the EAZA Small Mammal TAG, Ros Kennerley representing the SMSG, and other interested parties from each range-country.

We agreed that within-range facilities and a serious investment of resources are required to establish a successful breeding programme at a sufficient scale to provide enough animals for population reinforcement and possibly reintroduction. Further details of requirements and a funding plan will be drafted in the coming months.

One of the break-out groups, considering the potential role for ex-situ conservation efforts

Richard Viduna (EAZA Small Mammal TAG chair), Ros Kennerley (SMSG Co-Chair), and Dijana Beneta (Vice-Chair, EAZA Small Mammal TAG)

Next steps

The finalised conservation action plan will be approved and published later this year. Stay tuned! 

SSC Leaders’ Meeting 2024
Photo credit @Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Co-chairs Dr Ros Kennerley (based at Durrell) and Dr Tom Lacher (Texas A&M University) attended the 5th IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi. This event brought together more than 300 conservation leaders to address the urgently needed interconnected solutions to protect biodiversity, stabilise climate, and support human well-being.

Together, we drafted an SSC declaration “Saving Species Sustains Life“.

We are thrilled that the SMSG was amongst a few specialist groups that won an ‘Excellence Award’ for our work from 2021-2023.

Dr Jon Paul Rodríguez (Chair of the SSC) presenting the Excellence Award to the SMSG co-chairs

SMSG presentation

Dr Tom Lacher presenting at the SSC Leaders’ Meeting
Photo credit @Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Tom gave a talk about the SMSG’s achievements within the Assess part of the SSC Assess-Plan-Act cycle. The presentation highlighted work such as our Sulawesi workshop held last year, the Green Status of Species assessments we have produced, and the large European Pulse Project that we contributed to. The pulse project reassessed all mammals in the European region.

New CSS for small mammals

It was great to meet Dr André Stadler, who is the SMSG’s Ex-situ Focal Point and the director of AlpenZoo, Austria, who recently set up a Centre for Species Survival (CSS) to support small mammal conservation. The recruitment process is underway, and we hope to have a Project Officer in post in very early 2025.

Dr André Stadler and Dr Kira Mileham at the SSC Leaders’ Meeting

Dr Ros Kennerley with the SMSG poster at the SSC Leaders’ Meeting

We also had an opportunity to show off some of our projects and successes of our members across the world by having a poster displayed at the event.

The four-day meeting was intense, with lots of plenaries, workshops and networking opportunities.

Amongst the many delegates was Dr Barney Long, Senior Director of Conservation Strategies at re:wild. We have just heard that Re:wild will continue to provide support to the SMSG for 2025, making it the 9^th year that they have championed the SMSG!

The meeting came to a wonderful finale thanks to The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund who hosted a fantastic dinner for us all.

Alpenzoo (Austria) is the 19th conservation organisation to establish a Centre for Species Survival in collaboration with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), the world’s largest volunteer conservation-science network.  

Five of the nineteen Centres recognised globally by the SSC are based in Europe. Alpenzoo is proud to announce the establishment of a new Centre for Species Survival, which will significantly enhance their commitment to the conservation of small mammal taxa.

Centres for Species Survival are partnerships between conservation organisations and the SSC – a Commission made up of more than 10,000 species conservation experts worldwide. Centres are hosted by leading zoological, botanical and aquarium conservation organizations that are actively focused on key species or specific geographical regions.

Within this collaboration, Alpenzoo will be teaming up with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) to assess risk of extinction within this animal group and help speed up the planning and implementation of conservation action. The first step will be the establishment of a Programme Officer based at Alpenzoo, working remotely within the Specialist Group.

Co-Chair Ros Kennerley

“The IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group is delighted to be part of this exciting new partnership, which aims to bolster conservation efforts for the world’s 3,200+ small mammals. We look forward to growing our team with Alpenzoo and working with them to assess species for both the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Green Status and support conservation planning for species and multi-species planning in key regions.

Having a dedicated member of staff based at Alpenzoo will make a huge difference to what the SMSG can achieve for small mammals, which are generally under-researched and over-looked in terms of conservation funding and activities. It is brilliant to have Alpenzoo on board and we hope to see other institutions within the zoo community also step up to assist small mammal conservation.”

Dr Ros Kennerley, Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, based at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

The SMSG represents a global network of scientists and conservationists who share a passion for the world’s often overlooked and under-studied rodents, shrews, moles, solenodons, hedgehogs and treeshrews. The Group serves as the Red List Authority for these taxa, but also works to promote conservation actions on the ground and develop strategies to enable more effective projects for small mammals. Alpenzoo has long been interested in small mammal work, having developed a breeding programme for the Bavarian pine vole (Microtus bavaricus). The vole is now being transferred to other zoos, with a few specimens also being released into the wild for the first time this year.

André presenting to EAZA 2023 on the SMSG

“Our new Centre for Species Survival in collaboration with the SSC marks a significant milestone, as it is an honor to become the 19th zoo worldwide to initiate such a vital program. CSS Alpenzoo will play a crucial role in providing scientific insights, assessing extinction risk, and expediting the planning and implementation of conservation action. Our mission is to ensure the survival of highly threatened species across the globe, and we are already witnessing promising outcomes. For instance, our conservation project for the Bavarian pine vole has achieved groundbreaking success taking place right here at the Alpenzoo.

We are committed to continuing our efforts to protect and preserve biodiversity. This new Centre will enable us to contribute even more effectively to global conservation initiatives, ensuring a brighter future for many threatened species.”

Dr André Stadler, Alpenzoo Director.

Alpenzoo is unique in that it exclusively houses Alpine species native to the region. Visitors are treated to stunning views of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains while exploring a habitat that includes over 2,000 individuals across 150 animal species typical of the Alps. As the only zoo globally dedicated to Alpine wildlife, it has achieved considerable success. The zoo is actively involved in reintroduction initiatives for various species, including wild cats (Felis silvestris), bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus), black vultures (Aegypius monachus), European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis), and Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita).. Notably, it has conducted annual ibex (Capra ibex) releases for over 20 years and is planning on releasing a variety of different animals in the future. Through the new Centre for Species Survival, Alpenzoo will further increase their focus on small mammal taxa across a range of outputs, from coordinating global-level Red List and Green Status assessments, to promoting small mammal work within the zoo itself.

“We are excited to have Alpen Zoo join the global network of Center for Species Survival partnerships which now spans 13 countries and 6 continents. Together these leading conservation institutions have hired almost 50 highly-qualified staff working in support of priority species conservation science and action. Through joint efforts like these we can secure a thriving future for the species we share this planet with.”

Dr Kira Mileham, IUCN SSC Strategic Partnership Director.

Official launch of the Alpenzoo CSS. Photo credit: Thomas Steinlechner

The SMSG would like to say a huge Thank You to Erin McDonald for her work on a number of Red List reassessments for small mammals. Erin joined the team in the UK for a 6 month part-time internship through Durrell.

Erin McDonald

“During my six-month internship with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, I have been focusing on drafting global Red List assessments and range maps of small mammals, this included updating previously assessed species and drafting assessments for newly described species. Throughout the internship, I have gained new skills, such as GIS, and developed my knowledge of small mammal ecology and habitats. The desire to learn more about the Red List framework began following a lecture from Dr David Mallon in which I was informed about the global and regional assessor exam, after I completed this, I wanted to put the knowledge I had learnt into practice and offered my help to the SMSG. Abi and Ros guided me through the process of drafting assessments and range maps in line with IUCN guidelines. Throughout this time, I have drafted assessments for many small mammal species, from hedgehogs to shrews, which will be sent off to species experts before finalisation and uploaded to the IUCN Red List site. It will be both exciting and rewarding to see the species assessments I contributed towards published online.

I am currently studying for an MSc in Conservation Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University and this opportunity has allowed to me gain valuable skills and knowledge that I can transfer into my future conservation career as well as providing me the opportunity to build connections with experts in the industry. I am grateful to Ros and Abi for their guidance throughout my internship and for giving me such a great opportunity.”

Here are just a few of the species that Erin has worked on: