He might look sweet and innocent, but this dormouse from Haldon Forest Park has a great future as a saviour of his endangered species.

The tiny little creature has been chosen to take part in a captive breeding and re-introduction scheme to help save his species from serious decline in the wild. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is managing the reintroduction as part of work to boost the wild dormouse population of the UK.

Haldon Forest Park, managed by the Forestry Commission, is due to open in April as an all-ability activity centre, with miles of new trails for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The Sport England-funded project aims to encourage people into the great outdoors, but that doesn’t mean that the wild inhabitants of the woods are being overlooked, because there are some exceptional habitats to maintain. Area Ranger Ian Parsons, who has been monitoring the dormouse population, along with other mammals at 50 boxes across the site, said:

“We’re lucky to have quite a healthy population of dormice here at Haldon, so we could spare one of our young males for the programme. We’re hoping that he’ll perform well for it!”

But staff at Haldon will have to wait a while to find out how the dormouse takes to his new role.

“He's currently in Paignton Zoo in hibernation - with a couple of other new animals - and won't wake up until April. We're hoping that he'll add new genes to our captive population this coming summer,” PTES spokesperson Nida Al-Fulaij said.

The Dormouse Species Recovery Programme has now been running for 12 years and has been responsible for 13 reintroductions, predominantly in the Midlands and North of England, where the species has become locally extinct or extremely rare over the past century. Almost all of these have been hugely successful, with the dormice and their offspring spreading throughout the release sites and, in one case, colonising the surrounding countryside.

It has not yet been decided where this new population will be released, but last summer 30 dormice born and raised as part of the programme were released at a secret location on the Chatsworth Estate, the Derbyshire home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Dormouse numbers across the UK are declining, but experts from all of the organisations involved remain positive that the decline will be soon be reversed and the dormouse will, once again, thrive in our hedgerows and woods.

This long-term project is being run and funded by PTES and English Nature. Other organisations involved in the project are the Institute of Zoology (London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park), Paignton Zoo, Royal Holloway, University of London, the Mammals Trust and the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group (CDCBG).

"We've been delighted with the success of this project. It's based on some excellent science and shows very clearly that dormice can thrive in lots of woods if only they can reach them,” said Tony Mitchell-Jones, English Nature's mammals expert.

• The Forestry Commission is promoting the best place’s in its woods and forests to see Britain’s woodland wildlife through its WildWoods campaign. For further information, log on to www.forestry.gov.uk/wildlwoods or call 0845 FORESTS (0845 367 3787)

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Haldon Forest Park is on the outskirts of Exeter, just off the A38 at Exeter Racecourse. Follow the brown signs for ‘forest walks’.
2. The 1400-hectare site is being developed by the Forestry Commission in conjunction with Sport England as part of the Active England programme.
3. The development includes a 20-mile infrastructure of safe, off-road trails for walking, cycling and horse-riding enhanced by play equipment, sensory interpretation, seating and signage. A new car park and toilet facilities have also been built and a dedicated team are creating a programme of exciting, family-oriented events throughout 2006 and beyond. This forms an integral part of the Forestry Commission’s ‘Active Woods’ campaign.
4. This development has been made possible with the award of £760,000 from the Active England lottery distribution fund, managed by Sport England.
5. The site is also home to the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World, which has a programme of international and local exhibitions.