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Posted: 5th August 2014

Red squirrel sightings prompt new ground-breaking project
Red squirrel
Seventy-five per cent of the UK's remaining red squirrel population can be found in Scotland.
Squirrels spotted in parts of Aberdeen where they have been absent for many years

A project which aims to safeguard the native red squirrel from extinction in Scotland is calling on the residents of Aberdeen for help in locating new areas where these much-loved creatures are found.

Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (SSRS) has confirmed that red squirrels have been seen in parts of Aberdeen where they have been absent for many years, and want to hear of any other sites that are not yet recorded.

Red squirrel numbers in the UK have been declining rapidly since the introduction of grey squirrels from North America in the 19th Century. The grey squirrel has replaced the native red squirrel in much of the United Kingdom, because of competition for food and habitat. They also transmit the deadly squirrel pox virus. Today, 75 per cent of the UK's remaining red squirrel population can be found in Scotland.

SSRS say that an intensive trapping programme to remove the grey squirrel from parks and gardens across Aberdeen, has seen red squirrels become increasingly common in the west-end. However, recent records indicate that the red squirrels are moving even closer to the city centre.

SSRS north-east project officer, Steve Willis, comments: "Since early June, the project has received reports of red squirrels in the middle of Bridge of Don, at Kincorth Hill, Craigiebuckler, and even dashing across North Anderson Drive in the morning rush hour.

"However in order to build up an accurate picture of where red squirrels can be found across Aberdeen and how that population is shifting, we really need the public to be our eyes and ears and report their sightings."

Sighting of red or grey squirrels can be recorded on the Scottish Wildlife Trust's website.



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