England's Red Squirrels

The red squirrel's decline is a sad story of human stupidity.

In The 19th Century Red squirrels were Britain's only squirrel and there were more than 2 million of them across the country. Then someone introduced the American Grey Squirrel to our shores. A century later the native red squirrel has all but vanished from the England. There are still some in Cumbria and the North East of England and there are Scottish populations of more than 100,000 reds too, but it is estimated by the forestry commission that there are only 30,000 red squirrels left in England.

Apart from its red fur, the red squirrel is easily distingished from the grey by its tufted ears, smaller body size (40% smaller than the commonly seen grey) and shy habit .