The Red Squirrel: Soon to be Extinct in UK?

I’ve yet to see a red squirrel in the wild. Such is this animal’s continued population freefall that I may never see one. Full stop. Though once a common site down in the south of England, now it is mainly in the north and in Scotland that it survives.

It’s been a native of the British Isles for 10,000 years now, yet the naivety of the Victorian era threatens this creature with extinction.

In 1876, one Mr Brocklehurst, formally of Cheshire, in the north of England, now turning in his grave, decided it was a good idea to release a pair of North American grey squirrels into the wild. The rest, as they say, is history.

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A fateful event. A century or so later, and with many more greys released into the UK in the meantime, we have the red squirrel now afforded the highest level of protection under UK law, the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

As the greys have spread northwards they have out-competed red squirrels for food and carry a virus (squirrel-pox) which is lethal to the native reds. Further outbreaks of this virus have been reported recently.

This is so often the case. Introduce a non-native species to an island and endemic species are the ones to suffer. Despite significant and on-going conservation projects, red squirrels are still very scarce throughout most of the UK. The loss and fragmentation of this creature’s woodland habitat hasn’t helped either.

A double-barrelled assault on one of the UK’s most charismatic creatures. Consider that whilst the greys are immune to squirrel pox, whole communities of reds can be wiped out in just two weeks, and really, it’s a wonder that we have any red squirrels left at all.

The grey squirrel is much larger. It consumes far more food and in so doing, reduces the amount of food available. If starvation is likely, the female reds can stop breeding altogether.

A recent survey commissioned by the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) highlighted the support the general public has for controlling the growing grey squirrel population in Great Britain.

80% of those surveyed stated their support for control of the alien population of grey squirrels to preserve the native red from extinction and restore the threatened population.

Miles Barne of the ESI comments, “This survey shows there is a real demand from the public to see effective action that reverses the decimation of our native red squirrel population by the invasive grey.”

He continued: “The survey is also timely and puts in stark relief Natural England’s decision to grant licences allowing captured non-native greys back into the wild. As a government agency whose mission statement is to ‘conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscape and wildlife in rural, urban and coastal marine areas’, these releases set a dangerous precedent and cause unnecessary alarm.”

Who’d have thought? A government agency at odds with what the public really wants. The red squirrel. Yes, there’s hope, but we’re not out of the woods yet.

Further Information:

UK Biodiversity Action Plan

Sources:

European Squirrel Initiative

Image courtesy of Flickr

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