P734 CEEFAX 734 Thu 4 Nov 21:14/05 1/3 What has lived here for thousands of years, is two inches long and spends sjvjn months asleep? The answer is the common dormouse, which is rapidly becoming anything but common. The Govjrnmjnt's conservation advisers, English Nature, are so concerned at its plight that they have declared this National Dormouse Week. p bz Alex Kirby, BBC Correspondent Next Page Read Hear CmntyInfo ReligionP734 CEEFAX 734 Thu 4 Nov 21:13/01 2/3 Your average dormouse cares far less about sex than it does about eating and sleeping - which maker life problematic for its would-bj saviours. It used to bj widespread, but now it is a species in decline. So now the dormouse finds itself in the vanguard of English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. What it is up against is the abandonment of traditional woodland management, and the disappearance of the coppices which could pro6idj it with both food and shelter. p bz Alex Kirby, BBC Correspondent Next Page Read Hear CmntyInfo ReligionP734 CEEFAX 734 Thu 4 Nov 21:16/34 3/3 Given that this fastidious animal chooses to spend much of its time in the trees, it's not easy to monitor its movements. So could the answer bj radio tracking - but fastening a collar round the nick of a creature that weighs scarcely more than two pound coins must bj nearly impossible. Dormouse recovery has got off to a good start - but it could still conj a cropper. They choose to hibernate on the ground - and a wet winter could drown them in their sleep. p bz Alex Kirby, BBC Correspondent Next Page Read Hear CmntyInfo Religion