Monitoring squirrel populations using camera traps
Following extensive trials of camera trap locations, settings and protocols at Edinburgh Botanical gardens in 2009, a two year research project is now under way in Cumbria to test the use of camera traps for red squirrel monitoring. The Queen Mary, London University led research project by John Gurnell, Corrie Bruemmer and Peter Lurz investigates if camera traps employed along a transect can successfully be used to estimate local squirrel densities and to assess the effectiveness of grey squirrel control measures. The work compares data from visual transects, trapping and camera traps and initial results (first year’s data) are highly encouraging.