A WILDLIFE conservation charity is looking for volunteers to find members of an endangered species. 

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is encouraging nature enthusiasts to participate in the Great Stag Hunt, which is its annual stag beetle survey. 

The animals are the largest land beetles in the UK and PTES is asking for volunteers to reach out to their website with any sightings. 

Stag beetles are largely native to the south, but the removal of deadwood from parks and gardens have given animals like these much less space to survive.

The species is already extinct in at least 13 countries and is at risk of extinction in the UK. 

David Wembridge, the mammal surveys coordinator for PTES, said: “The data collected by the Great Stag Hunt gives an insight into where stag beetles live and what the impact of climate change might be.”

Those with gardens are encouraged to create a habitat for stag beetles by creating a small log pile and to post on social media any photographs of adult beetles found by using #GreatStagHunt and tagging @PTES. 

The survey will be open and available on the PTES website until the end of July.