In July, a man was given a 6 months conditional discharge from Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates’ Court in Staffordshire, Central England and ordered to pay £1,547 to cover investigation and legal fees incurred by the Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for killing a grey squirrel. The man had trapped the squirrel in […]
Seeing how a grey squirrel escaping ‘death by car’, Natalie Angier recently wrote a piece in the New York Times about the fascination that these animals have for biologists in USA.
This is the headline of a BBC News article (reported on 16th February 2010) that arises from theSaving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) conference held recently in Perth. For example, there are signs of a revival of red squirrels in parts of NE Scotland and it is believed that controlling the grey squirrel intruders is having a positive effect.
A recent study by scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology and Natural England (also see Publications page under Permanent articles) found no evidence that grey squirrels have any significant impact of woodland birds in England. This puts to rest the long held view by some that grey squirrels have been responsible for the marked decline […]
It has been reported that a Svynnerton’s bush squirrel (Paraxerus vexillarius) was seen killing a fruit bat of the species Epomophorus wahlbergi in the canopy of Mwofwomero Forest, in the Rubeho Mountains, Tanzania. It is not clear what caused the squirrel to attack the bat. This unusual siting was reported on the BBC Earth News.
HRH The Prince of Wales launched the Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST) on 3rd April 2009 at Levens Hall, Near Kendall in Cumbria, NW England. Prince Charles is a patron of the Trust which is a UK charity established to secure the conservation and protection of red squirrels in the UK.
The concept of strongholds form part of the Scottish Government’s strategy to conserve the red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, in Scotland. Forestry Commission Scotland sought views on the proposals in a consulation exercise that closed on 26th June 2009. Details of the consultation can be found on the FC website.
As a boost to their conservation, more than 30 red squirrels were released into the 13,355 haDundonnell Estate in Wester Ross in January. The scheme to re-establish them in the area was the idea of the Rice family, who own the Dundonnell Estate, with advice from wildlife consultant Roy Dennis. The release was featured in Widlife Extra.
Students at a school in Stubbington, Hampshire in the south of England have been puzzled by sightings of a purple couloured, grey squirrel which they have named Pete. There are also several photographs giving authority the story. The reason behind the squirrels fancy coat colour seems to be related to its behaviour of going in […]
Recently a grey squirrel has been seen near Inverness in the Highlands, Scotland in the heart of native, red squirrel country. It is thought possible that the animal may have got there on the back of a lorry (see BBC News story news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7364769.stm). Hopefully, there is only one animal and it is not carrying squirrelpox […]