News and Blogs

Conservation organisations have confirmed the presence of squirrelpox in red squirrels in Clackmannanshire. Through a post-mortem examination of an adult male red squirrel found in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies has confirmed that squirrelpox is present in the population. This is only the second time the virus has been detected north of the central belt. Squirrelpox is a virus carried by grey squirrels which does not affect them but can be rapidly lethal when passed to red squirrels. Symptoms include ulcers, scabs and weeping lesions on the face, paws and genitalia, all of which can prevent reds from eating, drinking or moving. As a result, it is usually fatal within two weeks and if left unmanaged, an outbreak can cause local populations to crash. The potential outbreak was first alerted to Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) and the Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group (ELRSG) in June, when a member of the public photographed a sick looking red squirrel in Dollar Glen. Since then, the conservation groups, volunteers, landowners and local residents have been on the lookout, reporting any sick or dead red squirrels they find. People in the local area have been asked to take down any wildlife feeders in their gardens for at least two weeks to limit the spread of the virus. ELRSG is leading on the ground work to limit the spread of the virus. Hollie Sutherlan ...

    Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels and the Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group have received multiple reports of sick red squirrels in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, with symptoms they believe to be consistent with squirrelpox. Post mortem results are the only way to confirm squirrelpox, but experts think it is highly likely from the below video evidence.   https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qsv9QNU74XE  The project is urging residents in Dollar to take down any wildlife feeders in their gardens for the next two weeks, and send any dead red squirrels found to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (information on how to do this is on the Publications page of our website.    Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group are working in the area to contain the spread of the potential virus, and are calling for local residents to get in touch if they can host a live trap in their garden. Anyone who can help or has images of sick red squirrels should contact elredsquirrelgroup@gmail.com.   Squirrelpox symptoms include lesions around the face, paws and genitalia. The squirrel will appear to be noticeably unwell – it may be quite lethargic and remain stationary for long periods of time and be easy to approach. Squirrelpox is a virus spread by grey squirrels. Greys are unaffected by the virus, but it is fatal to red squirrels within about two weeks.   There has only been one other positive case of squirrelpox north of the central belt, in Dunfermline ...

    Conservation projects, such as Saving Scotland Red Squirrels, work best when on the ground action is backed up by policies offering long term support. This Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) Week, we heard from the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s policy team about the current status of red squirrels, and what we need from Scottish Government to secure the future of this iconic species.   The red squirrel is one of Scotland’s most iconic native mammals and the only squirrel species to have evolved with Britain’s native woodlands. They are a much-loved native species, deeply rooted in Scottish folklore and history, and continue to inspire public affection across the country. Red squirrels also play a vital ecological role in promoting natural forest regeneration by storing tree seeds in the ground (many of which later germinate into new seedlings) and dispersing the spores of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi that provide disease resistance to trees. However, red squirrels have experienced severe declines across the UK and active conservation efforts are crucial to supporting the recovery of their populations. Image: Perthshire red squirrel on a log © Raymond Leinster    Current Situation – Species status in Scotland Red squirrel populations in the UK have suffered critical declines of approximately 90% over the last 150 years. Historically, populations were estimated to have reached a high of 3.5 million, occupying woodland across th ...

  We're really pleased to welcome Rachel as our new Community Coordination and Outreach Officer in the North East. Aberdeenshire residents and our volunteers are a huge part of our work here, so this role is a key part of the team. Here, Rachel tells us a bit more about herself.     Hi everyone!  My name is Rachel, and I’m delighted to be joining as the new Community Coordination & Outreach Officer for the North East. It’s such an exciting time for the project, and I’m thrilled to be part of the team! I studied Zoology at the University of Aberdeen, where I made some incredible memories. A highlight of my time there was a trip to South Africa, where I met amazing people, learned wildlife tracking, and even got up close to the iconic Big Five (as you might spot in my photo!). Wildlife conservation has always been a passion of mine, especially when it comes to our native Scottish species. While there’s extraordinary wildlife across the globe, I strongly believe in the importance of protecting and celebrating what we have right here at home, including our iconic red squirrels! Having previously volunteered with the project, I’ve seen first-hand the dedication and impact of our volunteers - it’s truly what makes this work so special. I’m really excited to be back and to support and grow this fantastic community. I’ve also volunteered with the Scottish Wildlife Trust as a Wildlife Watch leader, delivering outdoor learn ...

    We are on track to achieve something remarkable in Aberdeen City: what could be the world’s first eradication of an invasive mammal from a mainland urban environment. Our ‘Grey squirrel urban eradication strategy for Aberdeen’ combines science, community action and innovative detection methods to protect the city’s native red squirrels.     Here’s an overview of our project and how it works:   Why We’re Doing This    The goal of our programme is simple: remove all invasive non-native grey squirrels from Aberdeen City. In doing so, we aim to support the recovery of native red squirrels in the city and across Aberdeenshire. To ensure the programme is effective, we also need to prevent future invasions by detecting and removing grey squirrels re-entering the area, as quickly as possible. Red and grey squirrels cannot live alongside each other. If nothing is done to remove the grey squirrels, we could lose our red squirrels entirely.     The population of grey squirrels in Aberdeen is a genetically isolated, island population. Read our blog about how grey squirrels first arrived in Aberdeen, and why this part of the country is in a unique position. This area is a gateway to the UK’s largest are of red-only squirrels – The Highlands and Grampians. We must protect this area, and prevent any grey squirrels from establishing here. We can do this by removing the threat from greys in the North East.    ...

    What can we learn from a dead red squirrel?   Here at SSRS we use a lot of data to inform our work, determine priority areas and track the success of the project. From public sightings to camera trap images and hair sample ID, we gather this data from lots of different places, and in collaboration with many different people! One area we’re really interested in is red squirrel health across the country, particularly monitoring the prevalence of the deadly squirrelpox virus, which is carried by some grey squirrels. We caught up with Liam, from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, who carries out post mortems on red squirrels collected by SSRS and the public, to find out more about all the information we can learn from these. The below post contains images of dead red squirrels.   Hi, I’m Liam Wilson, one of the vet pathologists at the University of Edinburgh, and I help run the mortality monitoring scheme for Scotland’s red squirrels. As you probably know, our native reds in the UK are under pressure from disease and from competition for food with the invasive non-native grey squirrel. At the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, we’ve been running a mortality monitoring programme since 2005. This aims to understand the main causes of death in Scottish red squirrels, and to investigate any factors that might make them more vulnerable to certain threats, such as disease or in-breeding. ...

  Squirrel-watching wherever you are   A lot of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels team spend much of their time out and about, and are lucky to regularly see red squirrels while carrying out their work. Our staff are always happy to see our native reds, and they’re very aware that for most people this isn’t an everyday occurrence! When squirrel-spotting is part of your job description, it’s worth remembering that for most people, encountering a red squirrel on a walk, spotting one hopping through the trees, or visiting a feeder box in their garden is a very exciting thing indeed! Seeing a red squirrel isn’t just a reminder (and a reward!) of the important work we’re doing to protect a native species. They’re also a joy to watch, and the wellbeing benefits brought by squirrel watching are undeniably, if anecdotally, huge. We believe that this benefit shouldn’t just be felt by people who are able to spend time outside in areas where red squirrels are likely to make an appearance, or even just people who live in Scotland. Red squirrels, and all nature, should be accessible to everyone! This is why we’ve rounded up some fantastic red squirrel webcams across Scotland, so you can keep an eye on the wee characters no matter where you are.   RSPB Scotland Loch Leven nature reserve RSPB Scotland Loch Leven is home to red squirrels which can often be seen foraging, feeding and scaling trees in the woodland areas of the nat ...

  A QUARTER OF A MILLION SQUIRREL RECORDS IN SCOTLAND    Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) has collected over 250,000 records of squirrels since the project began, just in time to celebrate Red Squirrel Appreciation Day    The data will be uploaded to the National Biodiversity Network Atlas, the UK’s largest repository of publicly available biodiversity data, and combines both native red squirrels and invasive non-native greys. This impressive milestone is a combination of sightings submitted by passionate members of the public and dedication from SSRS staff and volunteers carrying out rigorous monitoring across the country. The data is used by the project, and it is available to anyone, meaning other conservation organisations, research groups or budding naturalists can benefit from this impressive resource.     Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, working in priority areas across Scotland for red squirrel conservation. The project uses public sightings and data from its own monitoring methods to track populations of both red and grey squirrels, making sure its conservation efforts are having the greatest impact to protect the native red squirrel.    Tom Lewis, SSRS Data Support Officer at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “We combine citizen science and dedicated monitoring efforts to maintain a clear picture of where red and greys squ ...

  There have been a few changes to our SSRS scurry for 2026! We’re delighted that Jen Payne, who joined the team in 2023 as Monitoring and Control Officer for East Angus will be taking on the role of Conservation Lead for the Highland Line, overseeing a really key area for red squirrel conservation. Chloe Chappell is our new Monitoring and Control Officer (MCO) for East Angus, and is already a fantastic addition to the project. We asked both of them to tell us a bit more about how they got into conservation.    Jen - Conservation Lead, Highland Line  “I’m Jen, the Conservation Lead for the Highland line team in SSRS. After graduating late in life, I was looking for something practical that would get me out from behind a desk and learning new skills. I loved my role on the ground from the off and have been lucky to have been here as the programme has evolved rapidly, with so many positive developments across all the teams. The Highland Line team is quite different now from just 3 years ago and I am incredibly proud to be part of its leadership it as it continues to progress and make tangible differences to Scotland’s red squirrels, albeit mostly from behind a desk!”                               Chloe - MCO East Angus   I have spent the last nine years studying and working in conservation with a focus on invasive species control since compl ...

    Success for red squirrel conservation along the Highland Line     Native red squirrels are expanding across central Scotland thanks to the efforts of a pioneering nature conservation project.    Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) is a partnership project, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, working in key areas across the country where populations of red and grey squirrels meet.    The Highland Line control zone is a priority area for SSRS, following the Highland Boundary Fault, a geological feature which acts as a natural barrier to invasive non-native grey squirrels, limiting numbers traveling into the red squirrel stronghold of the Highlands and Grampians. This Highland Line zone covers significant parts of the Argyll and Bute, Stirling, Perth and Kinross, Angus and Aberdeenshire council areas. SSRS also works closely with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority in this area.   SSRS project partners, a dedicated network of volunteers and individual landowners are doing their bit to defend the Highland Line, preventing any incursions of grey squirrels to the north and expanding red squirrel territory to the south. Monitoring and humane lethal control to remove grey squirrels create safe habitats for red populations to recover.    Grey squirrels outcompete red squirrels for food and habitat, and can replace an entire population of red squirrels within 15 year ...