PICTURED: Wildlife killed after St Catherine's Hill fire

Pictures show the extent of impact to animal life in St Catherine’s Hill after the blaze on Tuesday night affected 2.8 hectares of land with more than 40 firefighters sent to extinguish it.

In the days since, the Dorset branch of the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) charity have revealed the impact on native animals and claim such heath fires are caused by deliberate or accidental human action “99.9 per cent” of the time.

• Read more: Heath fire at St Catherine's Hill in Christchurch

ARCS’s Dorset field and health and safety officer Richard Sharp said: “Heathland fires are unfortunately all too common on our nature reserves around Bournemouth and Poole and can cause immense damage to the habitat and the creatures that live in them.

Grass snake remains after St Catherine's Hill heath fire. Picture: Dorset ARC

“99.9 per cent of these fires are caused either deliberately or accidentally by people.

“Heathlands by their nature are dry habitats and so exceedingly prone to arson and wildfires. They also are home to particularly vulnerable groups of native slow-moving reptiles that call St Catherine’s Hill home and ground nesting birds like the Nightjar and Woodlark both of which migrate long distances to nest here.

“[An] ARC field team have been rescuing reptiles with some success even with the poor conditions, moving several adders, sand and common lizards to safety on surrounding habitat untouched by the fire and will continue to search for emerging reptiles for the rest of the week.”

Harvest mouse nest after St Catherine's Hill heath fire. Picture: Dorset ARC

The team found dead animals from all six species of native reptile and said the death toll is “likely to be much higher” with unaccounted for underground animals.

 The losses of species, including protected and endangered species, so far include:

• Adders
• Common lizards
• Grass snakes
• Harvest mice
• Sand lizards
• Slow worms
• Smooth snakes

Richard added: “With climate change increasing the likeliness of drier summers we will all to likely see an increase in heathland fires in the future.

Common lizard remains after St Catherine's Hill heath fire. Picture: Dorset ARC

“This area will take years to recover and may well be changed beyond all recognition as it grows back.”

The cause of the St Catherine's Hill fire is still unknown.