Spring Blog 2017
Figure 1 Seasonal Red Squirrel ©
Olivia Kennaway
At this time of
year our native wildlife has one thing on its mind – reproduction! We humans have tampered with our environment so much
that some species are really struggling.
At a local level we continue to destroy habitats. A few predator species
like the magpie can take advantage of this, with less suitable nesting sites
for small birds, harvest mice and dormice. At least magpies are a native
species.
Figure 2 Grey Squirrel eating bird
The American
grey squirrel is not. Through no fault
of its own it was introduced to the UK in 1878 as a novelty. There are now
estimated to be over 3 million. The
problem is they are hugely destructive to our trees, shrubs and bulbs, as well
as predating on our birds, bats and dormice.
Figure 3 Grey Squirrel with egg from nest
Our native red squirrel has lived in harmony with our flora and fauna
since the last ice age – of course they also eat many of the same things – but
they are on average less than half the weight of a grey, eat much less and are
generally much less destructive. Reds were being driven to extinction, that is
until passionate volunteers in the north of England showed ,over the last 20
years, that if they carried out grey control, the reds could survive and indeed
thrive. This work has now been extended to other areas of the UK. Reds have been in steep decline predominately due to the greys which are territoriality aggressive and out compete them for food – plus greys carry, but
yet are immune to the squirrel pox virus, which the reds are highly susceptible
to. It is estimated that there are less
than 140,000 reds left in the UK. There
are none left in the wild in the South West, but in East Devon Escot Park has
built a walk through ¾ acre safe haven for reds, protected by a sheet metal
circumference, which squirrels cant climb.
This was completed in 2010 and is completely free for visitors to visit.
(there are other native species to visit, and gardens, for which there is a
charge - www.wildwoodescot.org)
Figure 4 Red Squirrel on tree
Red Squirrel South West was formed as a charity
ultimately to return red squirrels to the peninsular but also to provide a
national, and international non-political forum for reds – www.britishredsquirrel.org We need to build connectivity in the South
West – a tide of contacts and volunteers to achieve a suitable environment for
the return of our reds. It is working in
the Borders where more and more people are realising that they really can help
to save this iconic native mammal – and they have a straight line to defend
across Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Northumberland. We have a peninsular with sea on two sides –
let’s do it!
Figure 5 Red Squirrel talk
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