5704 page views

In the UK, the native European Red Squirrel faces extinction because grey squirrels were introduced from America, outcompeting the reds for food and carrying a disease which is harmless to greys and deadly to reds. At the moment it looks like they'll all be gone in 15-20 years :o(
So its nice to see pictures of happy, healthy reds like yours!
Steven Gregory

I asked Steven whether I could add his answer to the picture, and he gave me more interesting information of the situation of the red squirrels:
There is much time and effort being spent at the moment, trying to work out what can be done to save the reds. It is possible, of course, to control the greys by selective culling with traps or guns. This is being done in many places, but is limited in its effectiveness because there is always a fresh supply of greys from towns and cities where people get upset if you kill them. Greys breed twice as many times per year as the red ones so they spread quickly!

However, with habitat management, the advantage can sometimes be given back to the reds.
In most conditions, the greys compete more successfully, but in native Scots Pine forest, the reds have the upper hand.

The BIG problem is the squirrel pox virus, which spreads through both red and grey sqiurrel populations.
To a red squirrel it is much like the myximatosis virus in rabbits. To a grey squirrel it has no effect.

There is no vaccine for the virus, and if there were it would be very difficult
to administer to a wild population. At the moment there is no solution.

The reds are already extinct from most of England, Wales and most of central Scotland.
The first case of squirrel pox in a Scottish Red Squirrel was reported earlier this year, so the signs are not good.

Italy is having similar problems with grey squirrels, and because of its connection with mainland Europe, that is a bad thing for the reds everywhere. Fortunately, the alps would greatly hinder or possibly stop the spread. It would be sad if Italy lost all their reds too, though.

We also have a problem with Crayfish - again due to introductions of non-native species (also Salmon, Earthworms,
Scottish Wild Cat, Rock Doves and many, many species of plant). This country is slow to learn lessons!

Feel free to add any of this to the picture!

There is much information here: http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/species/mammals/squirrels.asp My involvement is getting up at 5am to go to the woods to count population densities in a wood which has both red and grey squirrels to montor the effects of the spread of greys and evaluate strategies for maintaining the population densities of the reds!

Kind Regards,

5766 page views

Steven