Background
Red squirrels are Britain's only native squirrel. Whilst they are still a familiar sight in Cumbria and the North East of England, they have all but vanished from the rest of England where they have been replaced by the North American grey squirrel.Whinlatter Forest
The Forestry Commission in North West England is working with Save Our Squirrels and other partners to help secure the long-term survival of red squirrels in Cumbria.
Whinlatter Forest Park has been designated as a Red Squirrel Stronghold as it still has a good population of Red Squirrels and is ideally suited because it is largely coniferous, one of our larger forests and has few large seeded broadleaves. We are managing Whinlatter Forest to provide a good habitat for Red Squirrels with a mixed age structure, range of conifer species and by not planting large seeded broadleaves.
In addition to maintaining habitats for Red Squirrel we are monitoring for Grey Squirrel incursion by trapping. Traps are set and baited with maize and visited twice a day by our Wildlife Rangers to ensure no suffering is experienced by any captured animal. Approximately 150 traps are deployed each year covering a wide area within woodlands in the buffer zone around Whinlatter.
Visit Whinlatter during the winter and you may see one of our Red Squirrels via our Red Squirrel feeder cam.
Spot the Difference:
Red Squirrel:
Body length: 20-22cm
Ears: tufted, especially in winter
Tail: one colour all over
Weight: 300g
Shape: Slender
Habits: Shy, spends time in high trees
Grey Squirrel:
Body length: 25-26cm
Ears: never tufted
Tail: white tips all around tail
Weight: 500g
Shape: stocky
Habits: bold often seen on the ground
