THE retreating snow cover is good news for the island’s wild animal population, according to the Manx Wildlife Trust.
While hundreds – potentially thousands – of domestic and livestock animals perished in the Arctic conditions, there were also casualties in the wild.
Despite this, a MWT spokesperson said populations on the whole would pull through intact, and only be seriously affected if the snowy ground conditions were to continue for an extended period.
‘Most of the species are fairly resilient,’ said the spokesman. ‘A lot of animals are quite well adapted, things like rabbits and mountain hares will get by. Over thousands of years native animals adapt to cope with the best and the worst. They tend to bounce back.’
Last year’s unseasonably wet summer had a potentially worse impact than the recent snow falls, as the unusual conditions were drawn out over several months.
The spokesman explained: ‘Local species of bird like sparrows – ground feeding birds – will start to suffer eventually if it didn’t thaw.’
