The dormouse, usually found throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, is slowly making its way back from the brink of extinction. The first dormice to be released back into the wild were released into the wilderness areas of England in July of 2001. If the released population can survive sustainably in the wild, conservationists will be able to start releasing more dormice into the wild in the coming years.

Gains have been made recently in protecting the habitat for the dormouse. Previously dormouse populations could be found throughout Europe; however, now they have disappeared from at least seven countries where they had been found only a century ago. Currently, the dormouse primarily lives in the United Kingdom regions of Cornwall, Kent, Herefordshire, North Hampton, and throughout the Irish countryside, but not in Scotland. It is known by scientists that the dormice prefer to live in dense woodlands and around thick hedges. In these areas, the dormouse will feed on buds, flowers, and insects they find tangled in the branches and vines. Unfortunately, due to an increase in farmland, the habitat for the dormouse is quickly shrinking. There are several organizations that are currently working to restore the dormouse habitat and in these reserves, the captive dormice population is being released.

Global climate change is also having an effect on the dormouse population. The dormouse is known to hibernate during the winter season and hibernation usually starts after the first frost in October or November. They are not active again until April or May and while they hibernate, the dormouse will protect itself from the cold weather by dropping its own body temperature by 90%. The global climate change can drastically effect the amount of time the dormice spend hibernating and also disrupt how many young are born. Dormice usually have about two litters per year of four mice each. In years when food is scarce or when bad weather has shortened or prolonged the hibernation season, dormice usually will not produce young until August or September. This gives the adult dormice and young ones very little time to store up fat for the winter. Until the global climate is more stable, more and more of the dormouse population will be affected by the short and bitter winters which give them very little time to adapt and prepare.

Conservation programs are currently in effect to help the dormouse survive. Research has been done to understand the dormouse biology and habits, local surveys have been done to determine where the dormice are currently living and what the population size is and how the reintroduction programs are working. One of the more well known population surveys is the Great Nut Hunt which started back in 1993 with over 6,000 people participating. Volunteers for the nut hunt were asked to look for characteristically nibbled hazel nuts on the floor of the forest as evidence of dormouse presence. The current Great Nut Hunt is being sponsored by English Nature in conjunction with the Mammal Trust, Countryside Council for Wales and Centre Parcs.

Currently, the People's Trust for Endangered Species, Royal Holloway College and several zoos in the United Kingdom are working with English Nature to continue the dormice re-introduction in the restored areas. Pat Morris and Paul Bright are working on a national monitoring scheme based on nest boxes of the dormouse which provides them with information on changes in population numbers. They are also working on ways to connect the nature reserves so that the dormice can move freely between them. The dormouse population is a success story for conservationists, but carefully monitoring of the wild population will need to be kept up in order to make sure that this species does not become critically endangered again.