General

Resistance to poxvirus observed in red squirrels at Formby, Lancashire, England

Monday, November 25th, 2013

Some 10% of the red squirrels captured at the National Trust’s Red Squirrel Reserve at Formby, Lancashire in recent years have had antibodies to squirrelpox virus in their blood. Red squirrels at the Reserve were hit badly by an outbreak of pox in 2008, and the population has been recovering since then (BBC News) The […]

Red squirrels on Tresco, Isles of Scilly

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

In October 2012, five red squirrels (one female and four males), were transported by helicopter from the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, England to the Island of Tresco (297 ha) in the Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall in SW England. The aim  is to produce an island safe haven for the animals. A […]

Good news about red squirrels in the North of England

Friday, September 20th, 2013

Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE) have recently published the Spring 2013 Report of their standardised squirrel monitoring programme across the north of England. The good news is that there has been  a 7% increase in tetrads (2 km by 2 km squares) reporting the presence of red squirrels since last year and an 18% decline in […]

Numbers of red squirrels seen on the Isle of Wight down

Friday, July 26th, 2013

Numbers of red squirrels seen on the Isle of Wight appear to have fallen this year. In a BBC News Hampshire and Isle of Wight article, it has been suggested that this results from a combination of the wet summer in 2012 affecting the survival of young animals, an increase in the number of buzzards […]

Bacon-Wrapped Squirrel with Sriracha Ranch Dip

Monday, April 1st, 2013

One for the pot?

The brunette squirrel

Sunday, October 7th, 2012

The Telegraph considers the brunette squirrel as a little known fourth variety of nut-eating rodent in Britain Red squirrels in fact vary in colour from very orange to red to black which may in part be related to past introductions of red squirrels from mainland Europe.

First National Conference in Red Squirrel Conservation to be held in England in April 2013

Thursday, September 13th, 2012

Cornwall Red Squirrel Project and Red Squirrel South West are hosting the red squirrel conference on 19th April 2013 at Exeter Business School, The University of Exeter, Streatham Campus. The aim of the meeting is to hear about red squirrel conservation studies from around Europe and to see what lessons can be learned to feed […]

How often do Eurasian red squirrels use holes in the ground?

Friday, August 24th, 2012

A photograph recently added to the Gallery shows a hole that a red squirrel was seen to go down during felling operations in a spruce plantation in Kielder Forest in the north of England. The hole was about 30 cm deep, and the feeding remains around the hole suggest that it was a spot frequently […]

Red squirrels in northern Italy are disappearing

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

A report in the Guardian highlights the plight of the red squirrel in northern Italy. Grey squirrels were first introduced into the region of Piemonte some 60 years ago and have now spread over large areas replacing the red squirrels as it goes. There are fears that the grey squirrel will eventually spread into neighbouring […]

New impact assessment guidance and squirrel booklets published

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

New guidance on the ecological impact of development on red squirrels has been published in UK BAP Mammals; Interim Guidance for Survey Methodologies, Impact Assessment and Mitigation published by The Mammal Society (other species covered include harvest mice, hares, hedgehogs, wildcats, pine martens, and polecats). Also recently published are two booklets, one called Squirrels written […]