Red squirrels can live in both coniferous and deciduous woodland and are widely distributed across Europe and northern Asia.
Drivers Red Squirrel Clip Art
Lisa Wood filmed the red squirrel, a protected species in the UK, in a coastal town in the Scottish Highlands. Now Playing: Former NASCAR driver opens up about being 1 of only 7 black drivers. Drivers of disease occurrence in a threatened UK native species, the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) Dr. Peter Lurz and Professor Rob Ogden.
What is the red squirrel’s preferred habitat?
Red squirrels are found across much of Europe and northern Asia and the species is categorised by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as Least Concern. However, within the UK their range and numbers have undergone a huge decline in the last century, and only approximately 121,000 remain today, 3/4 of which are in Scotland. Red squirrels have returned to one of Britain's most stunning beauty spots after a 16-year absence. Native reds have been almost wiped out in the country, except for a few pockets in the north of. The dramatic decline of the native red squirrel in the UK has been attributed to both direct and disease-mediated competition with the grey squirrel where the competitor acts as a reservoir host of squirrelpox virus (SQPV). SQPV is threatening red squirrel conservation efforts, yet little is known about its epidemiology.
Due to their wide-ranging diet, red squirrels are able to live in a range of different forest habitats. They are found in both coniferous and deciduous (broadleaved) woodlands. The seeds of trees make up a large part of their diet and an ideal habitat will have a variety different tree species, so that if one species has a poor seed year, there are other food sources available.
Squirrels sleep in dreys. These are built out of sticks, high in trees out of reach of predators, and are lined with moss, leaves and wool. A squirrel will have 3 or 4 dreys which it uses on a regular basis and a bigger breeding drey in which it will give birth and raise young.
Grey Squirrel
Where is the red squirrel found?
Red squirrels are found across much of Europe and northern Asia and the species is categorised by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as Least Concern. However, within the UK their range and numbers have undergone a huge decline in the last century, and only approximately 121,000 remain today, 3/4 of which are in Scotland. Habitat loss has been one of the main drivers of the decline, along with the introduction of the non-native grey squirrel. Grey squirrels are able to digest the tannins found in broadleaved seeds such as acorns earlier in the year, enabling them to out-compete our native reds in this type of habitat. Due to this, in the UK red squirrels are mainly now found only in coniferous woodland, where they are not so easily out-competed, and are largely restricted to Scotland, which holds 3/4 of the UK population.
The red squirrel is found in all these countries!
Wee squirrels in Scotland can now stay safe thanks to a rope bridge suspended between the trees over a road in the northwest Highlands.
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The population of red squirrels in Britain has diminished over the last decades. The threatened species native to Britain has had to contend with deforestation and the dominance of their bitter rivals, the grey squirrels.
However, for a population of Highland red squirrels, crossing the street has become less of a worry.
The conservation charity, Trees for Life, installed a specifically designed rope bridge between the tree canopy above the A896 near the village of Shieldaig, Scotland in the northwest Highlands. The organization constructed the bridge and placed road signs to alert drivers of animal crossings with the hopes of redeeming the red squirrel population in the surrounding woodlands.
Trees for Life’s Wildlife Officer, Beck Priestley explained, “Sadly, road traffic is a major risk for wildlife – including red squirrels. We wanted to take positive action to help the red squirrel population spread into the local woodlands as safely as possible. The combination of bridge and road signs definitely appears to be working well, which is great news.”
According to the People's Trust for Endangered Species, an estimated one million mammals die on roads in the United Kingdom alone. Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels reported that three percent of red squirrel sightings are dead on the road, with the figure potentially far higher.
Prior to conservation efforts, at least five red squirrels perished within a year trying to cross the street. Since the bridge and signs went up, there has only been one known red squirrel death on the road, and this year has not had any reported fatalities.
“It’s safer for reds to travel in the tree canopy rather than on the ground, so it’s likely that if they have the option of using a bridge rather than crossing the road, they will take it. We also installed feeders at each end of the bridge to encourage the squirrels to use it,” Priestly continued.
A camera trap in place for more than a year captured the small mammals exploring the woodlands, breeding, and spreading into new territory. Their population continues to flourish as two new litters of red squirrels have appeared near the release site.
Today, only an estimated 120,000 red squirrels remain in Britain, with about 75 percent of them residing in the woodlands, parks, and gardens of Scotland. Their population began to decline steadily because of deforestation and the introduction of North American grey squirrels to the United Kingdom in the 1800s. The dominant greys outcompete reds for their territory and brought with them the squirrel pox virus, a disease which they have immunity to but kills the red species.
Altogether, the Trees for Life project has successfully reintroduced 140 red squirrels back into their habitat including in Shieldaig. The Tree of Life foundation continues to raise money to reintroduce even more red squirrels in at least eight woodlands in the northwest Highlands. The funding will also go towards protecting the reds from competition and disease of the grey squirrels.
Trees for Life works to restore natural forests and rare wildlife in the wilderness region in the Scottish Highlands, including their 10,000 acre Dundreggan Conservation Estate. Their organization, along with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels and UK Red Squirrel Group provide vital support for red squirrel conservation in the United Kingdom.