…disease thus far and protect red squirrels in the area. The Eastern Lowland’s Red Squirrel Group is leading on local efforts, working in partnership with the volunteer-led Fife Red Squirrel Group. Those interested in volunteering with survey and/or grey squirrel control efforts in the Dunfermline area can email elredsquirrelgroup@gmail.com . Scotland’s red squirrel populations are under threat from the spread… […]
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…and Lochearn will also be monitored. In the south of Scotland the project will maintain a co-ordinating overview of grey squirrel control efforts by land managers and volunteers within the priority areas for red squirrel conservation (PARCs). Our Grey Squirrel Control Officers will focus on the Upper Tweed, the Nithsdale and the Annandale PARCs. Existing volunteer groups which are not… […]
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…them to become fully community-led. In the North East, the project has worked towards the removal of an isolated population of grey squirrels that was introduced to Aberdeen in the 1970s and spread to the surrounding countryside. Today, grey squirrels are largely limited to the centre of the city and eradication is considered achievable. In the Central Lowlands, grey squirrels… […]
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…and the rest of the UK, were our native reds. Then, in 1876, Victorians brought grey squirrels to Cheshire in England, to decorate parks. Naturally spreading from there and with further releases, including across the south of Scotland, grey squirrels rapidly took over, wiping out red squirrels as they went through competition and by carrying the deadly squirrelpox virus. By… […]
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…this, there are many people throughout the country who have never seen a red squirrel due to the catastrophic declines they have suffered since non-native grey squirrels were introduced to the UK beginning in the 1890s; red squirrels are currently listed as an endangered species in the UK, and without conservation action are at risk of being driven to extinction…. […]
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…threaten their survival. These grey squirrels not only out-compete reds, some also carry the deadly squirrelpox virus. If their spread was allowed to continue, Scotland’s red squirrel stronghold in the southern Highlands would be at serious risk. The aim in this region is containment of the grey squirrel population to prevent further inroads being made on Scotland’s core red squirrel… […]
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…through competition for resources. Most worryingly they could also potentially bring the deadly squirrelpox virus, which isn’t currently present in Aberdeenshire, with them. This virus doesn’t harm grey squirrels but it is deadly for reds. It would be devastating for Scotland’s squirrels if squirrelpox is allowed to spread into the north of the country. “There are a number of ways… […]
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…network. Visit our volunteer network directory to find out if there is a group operating in your area. Contact us or join our online Community Hub to express interest. Join a local volunteer network Landscape-scale community action is the key to the long-term survival of Scotland’s red squirrels. The project is supporting red squirrel networks across our priority areas. The… […]
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As the warmth and brightness of summer give way to the colourful leaves and shorter days of autumn, the Scottish red squirrel is at their most active on the forest floor – caching food for the colder months ahead. The behaviour of red squirrels in autumn offers a window into the natural rhythm of the seasons, and it is the… […]
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…on a record-breaking turnout in 2020, last year’s 2021 Great Scottish Squirrel Survey saw 1549 squirrel sightings reported in just one week by nearly 1100 people across Scotland. Sightings help project staff to create a picture of the situation on the ground, and directly contribute to red squirrel conservation action. Since the end of the project’s spring surveys in 2020,… […]
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