Busy squirrel

Until the arrival of the grey squirrel into the UK, the red squirrel was the only European species. The grey squirrel has outcompeted the red leading to the former losing most of its range in the UK.

Life span
They live for up to 7 years.

BEST PLACES TO SEE RED SQUIRRELS
The main populations of red squirrels can be seen in the North of Britain. The best places are the pine woods of Speyside and Deeside in Scotland, the Lake District, North Lancashire and in Northumberland. There are even a few red squirrels in in Tyneside, Formby Point Nature Reserve in Merseyside, The Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island in Poole harbour.

Thetford Forest in East Anglia is looking to reintroduce this loveable animal which could lead the way for similar projects if it proves successful.

HABITAT
Red squirrels live in large patches of conifer forest (over 50 hectares), and in the UK, they have adapted to Scots pine forest. They can be found at altitudes up to 2000m in the Alps and Pyrenees.

DIET
Red squirrels eat spruce and pine seeds, acorns, berries, fungi, bark and sap tissue. Like the grey squirrel, they store surplus food either just below the ground or in tree clefts.

BEHAVIOUR
Red squirrels live in a drey which has a frame of twigs and is lined with moss and grass. The drey is usually built at least 6m off the ground in a tree.

Each squirrel may use several dreys and they have a home range of seven hectares. Like the grey squirrel, they do not hibernate, but will remain in their dreys for several days at a time during bad weather.

REPRODUCTION
Red squirrels mate between January and March, and have a litter of 1-8 (usually 3), following a gestation period of 36-42 days. If there is a poor cone crop the litter may not be born until the summer.

The young are weaned at 7-10 weeks, and are independent at 10-16 weeks. Parental care involves only the female.

CONSERVATION STATUS
Red squirrels are on the 2000 IUCN Red List as Lower Risk. Whilst not a subject of conservation directives in the UK, studies into the reasons for their decline are ongoing. There are currently around 140,000 red squirrels in Britain.