New wildlife film follows water vole in Welsh pond

Abby Neve

A new cinematic wildlife film about the life of one of Britain’s most threatened mammals, the water vole, is available to watch today on Youtube.

Created by Cardiff based wildlife filmmaker Natalie Clements, Ffern: A Water Vole and Her Pond follows the life of Ffern, a water vole living in a small Welsh pond.

“Water voles are one of our most loved but most threatened native mammals,” says Natalie Clements. “I wanted to tell a story that went beyond simply showing a species — I wanted people to connect with an individual animal and understand how important even the smallest habitats can be.”

The film takes a ‘character-led’ approach to conservation storytelling, inviting audiences to see the world from the perspective of one small animal and better understand the fragile habitat that supports her.

Filmed over the changing seasons, the film reveals some of the challenges faced by the animal.

Once widespread across Britain, water vole populations have suffered significant declines due to habitat loss and predation.

Conservation projects and habitat restoration are now helping to support their recovery in parts of the UK.

Wild Cymru, a conservation organisation in Wales, runs a project to protect water voles in Wales.

Communications officer Laurence Whitaker said: “Water Voles have witnessed one of the most dramatic population crashes of any mammal species in Wales. It is likely that if we do not act to save the Water Vole, then this once common neighbour of ours is facing almost certain extinction from these shores.”

According to the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, water voles used to be found in nearly every waterway in England, Scotland and Wales but are now thought to have been lost in up to 90% of these sites

The film will be available to watch for free on YouTube from Saturday 15 August from 6pm.

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