The All-Ireland Squirrel and Pine Marten Survey 2019 has been published by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The findings are encouraging. For example, pine marten sightings have increased over the last seven years and their core range has expanded from the west and midlands to County Wicklow and Northern Ireland. At the same time, […]
According to the Portugal Resident publication, red squirrels in Portugal are being killed by a strain of adenovirus found in South Korea. Scientists are trying to establish how this has occurred.
The latest survey of red and grey squirrels in Scotland indicates that numbers are stable with some minor regional changes and some optimism for the future. Further details can be found in: The National, The Canary, The Herald.
Joshua Twining and colleagues from Queen’s University Belfast have recently published a study in Royal Society Open Science that shows that red squirrels are better than grey squirrels at detecting the scent of pine martens. This may be one reason why alien grey squirrels tend to ‘disappear’ when pine martens move into an area, whereas […]
Lisa Leaver and colleagues at Exeter University have studied whether grey squirrels are left-handed or right-handed in laboratory tests. Many squirrels appeared to favour their left or their right paw, but these squirrels performed less well than those which were ambidextrous. The studies, which will be published in the scientific journal Learning and Behaviour, contribute […]
The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh is spearheading a study to edit the genes of male squirrels to contain a gene-drive that, once the males are released, should quickly spread throughout the population and make future females sterile. The idea is that the spread of female infertility in the population will mean the population is unable […]
An unconfirmed case of a red squirrel with squirrelpox virus disease at Smardale Nature Reserve, Cumbria was reported by a Cumbria Wildlife Trust volunteer. The virus is carried by grey squirrels and the disease it causes in red squirrels is invariably fatal. Local people and volunteer groups are being asked to be vigilant and sterilise […]
Over 600 people took part in the first Great Scottish Squirrel Survey which was carried out from 23-29 September this year. Greys were reported 198 times and red squirrels 630 times. These valuable findings provide insights into how red squirrels are faring in different parts of the country and the efforts of many people in […]
Trees for Life have embarked on their latest phase to reintroduce red squirrels across the Scottish Highlands by translocating 20 animals from Inverness-shire and Moray to Ledmore and Migdale Woods in Sutherland. Red squirrels were present in these areas until about 20 years ago and critically grey squirrels are absent (The Scotsman, The Herald).
People interested in wildlife in general and squirrels in particular will be closely following the progress of pine martens recently introduced into the Forest of Dean in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Eighteen martens were moved from Scotland to the Forest of Dean by Forestry England, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, the Vincent Wildlife […]