Lonely squirrel has mating partner

A lonely red squirrel from Norfolk finally has a potential mate from Cornwall.

Red squirrels have been kept as part of a conservation scheme at Kelling Heath Holiday Park in Norfolk since 1999 and is now part of a breeding programme run by the East Anglian Red Squirrel Society.

Since that time, the holiday park has bred 20 kittens, however, a shortage of females has left an 18-month-old male without a breeding mate.

Cornwall's Paradise Park, which specialises in breeding endangered wildlife, has made a "swap deal", giving a six-month-old female in return for one of Norfolk's males.

Staff at Kelling Heath hope the new female will breed with their male in springtime.

The number of red squirrels in the UK has sharply declined since the release of the non-native grey squirrels during the 19th Century. Greys are larger, more aggressive, better adapted and a carrier of the squirrel pox virus - deadly to reds.

David Martin, countryside manager at Kelling Heath, said: "We're very lucky to have found a mate for our squirrel. Now we all have our finders crossed that the pair get on so we can help to maintain and conserve the British Red Squirrel bloodline."