One of Argyll’s great resources is its wildlife and biodiversity.  A crucial – and photogenic – part of that is its red squirrel population, found across much of its mainland territory but not, understandably, out on the islands.

This is a population in decline, under threat from the North American Grey Squirrel which arrived in the 19th century, competes for food, is larger and  more aggressive and, critically, carries the Squirrel Pox which is lethal for the reds within 14 days. While research is hard at work to develop a vaccine for Squirrel Pox this is not on the immediate horizon so alternative approaches have to be taken in the meantime to protect the red squirrel population.

Today (10th February) the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS), and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA) have joined forces in a £1.3 milion project – Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.

Starting work in April, this is dedicated, over the next three years, to developing habitats where the red squirrel can flourish and will also work to control the greys which threaten their survival, including judicious culling.

The project to save one of Caledonia’s rare and most attractive species is being launched, appropriately, at Dunkeld in Perthshire where Dougie MacLean, singer songwriter who composed Caledonia has a folk music pub.

Ron McDonald, from SNH, says that grey squirrel control will be focussed on the key routes used by grey squirrels to spread

north. ‘Greys have already displaced red squirrels from most of England, Wales and Scotland’s central belt, but much of the north still remains grey-free.

‘With sightings of greys becoming more frequent in northern Perthshire and Angus, and a population of grey squirrels already

established in Aberdeen, it is imperative that we act quickly to protect red squirrels north of the central belt and prevent the grey’s further migration’.

Environment Minister, Michael Russell, says: ‘The red squirrel is one of our most beautiful and valuable native species. Its loss would therefore be absolutely unforgiveable’.

Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Stuart Brooks says that he well understands why people do not like the prospect of killing the greys but is clear that: ‘… it is disingenuous to say that there are viable alternative solutions to saving the red squirrel in Scotland’.

Current Scottish squirrel population statistics see about 121,000 red squirrels – 75% of the UK’s population of reds – and somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 greys.

The BBC has published a very useful map generated by the Scottish Widlife Trust, showing the distribution of the red squirrel in Scotland and the decline in its population here in the last ten years.

This map shows that in Argyll, the red have lost ground in the soutern part of the Kintyre peninsula but have strengthened their position to a degree in Cowal.

The photograph of a red squirrel above is by Toivo Toivanen & Tiina Toppila and is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cute … but not cute enough to live (guardian.co.uk)
• Ray of hope for the red squirrel (news.bbc.co.uk)