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, […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
The UK Squirrel Accord aims to secure and expand native red squirrel populations and prevent damage to trees by managing introduced grey squirrels. It is a partnership of 37 forestry and conservation organisations, Government agencies and companies, and has connections to volunteer red squirrel groups. It has launched a new website (UK Squirrel Accord) which […]
Members of the public are invited to take part in an All-Ireland Citizen Science survey of pine martens and red and grey squirrels. The survey, organised by researchers from the Ryan Institute in NUI Galway and the Ulster Wildlife and Vincent Wildlife Trust, aims to record sightings during 2019. There is evidence, notably from the […]
Despite an outbreak of squirrelpox virus (SPQV) in 2017, red squirrels in the city of Bangor in North Wales have increased in 2018. SQPV is carried by grey squirrels and invariably fatal to red squirrels (The Bangor Aye). Red Squirrels Trust Wales has embarked on a project (Painting the Town Red) to rid the city […]
Can you help? Nancy Moncrief from the Virginia Museum of Natural History, USA carries out research on the morphology and genetics of North American Sciurus tree squirrels. Nancy is currently looking at a whole-genome study on Sciurus carolinensis and S. niger and is seeking data from a third tree squirrel species. but there is nothing on Genbank. So, if […]
A recent paper by Emma Sheehy and colleagues (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2018) has provided empirical evidence that, as pine martens extend their range in the north of Britain, alien grey squirrel numbers fall. In contrast, native red squirrel populations are not affected and can recover from the competitive effects of […]