Squirrel Sightings: an inside look

…a recent report of a grey squirrel seen near Loch Katrine was worrying and surprising, as it has been a stronghold for red squirrels for many years, and is some distance from the nearest grey squirrel population. Swift action ensured that the squirrel was captured, and since then local people have kept a sharp eye out to make sure there… […]

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Introducing the newest faces of our scurry

Conservation Officer for North East Scotland Emma joined us in April as our new Conservation Officer for North East Scotland, as a highly experienced red squirrel and pine marten researcher. Since starting the role, she has been focusing on the eradication of Aberde*]}*en’s urban grey squirrel population, returning reds to the parks and gardens of Aberde*]}*en and halting the spread […]

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News: Suspected squirrelpox outbreak near Lockerbie threatens local red squirrel population

…various areas over the years, targeted grey squirrel control work has ensured that the local red squirrel populations have successfully recovered. Research published by Professor Andy White and colleagues has shown that when grey squirrel numbers are kept low, red squirrels are given enough time to repopulate an area after suffering a major decline. Nicole Still, Programme Manager for Saving… […]

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News: First death of red squirrel from squirrelpox virus confirmed north of Scotland’s Central Belt

concerned about this latest news and are asking the local community in Dunfermline to take immediate action and protect red squirrels by taking in all garden and woodland wildlife feeders for the next month, as these can contribute to the spread of the disease from greys to reds and between reds once infected. We are also asking for everybody to… […]

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Leaping into the future

…we’ll continue to reduce the number and spread of grey squirrels in Aberde*]}*en and the surrounding area; and commission scientific advice detailing the approximate timeline and milestones towards eradication. We expect that as grey squirrel numbers continue to fall, the control team will develop a “rapid response” strategy – detecting and removing any remaining grey squirrels until eradication can be […]

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Studying the life of the urban red squirrel

…radio-tracking, a range of other data have been collected. These have included: monitoring the locations and causes of death in the population through post-mortems; determining habitat quality and availability through seed crop surveys and computer-based mapping; and evaluating the availability and impact of supplemental feeding via a public survey. A radio-collared red squirrel in a handling cone, which helps to… […]

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This Year's Sightings