39
Endangered red squirrels thriving on British island (www.bbc.co.uk)
submitted 3 days ago by [M] to c/nature@feddit.uk
2 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

With growing concerns that red squirrels could soon become extinct in England, one Channel Island is a corner of the British Isles where they maintain a stronghold.

Jersey is home to a thriving red squirrel population, thanks to the complete absence of grey squirrels, which carry a virus deadly to their red cousins.

Red squirrels are endangered in the UK, with about 120,000 to 160,000 left in the wild and various projects are aiming to boost those numbers.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 3 days ago

I'd like to see more pine martens reintroduced - they hunt the greys, but the lighter reds can elude them by using smaller branches. Also, the reds know to avoid the martens.

Pine martens don't like urban environments so they can't do the job alone, but in forested areas the change is dramatic.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •