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The red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia.
The long tail helps the squirrel to balance and steer when jumping from tree to tree and running along branches and may keep the animal warm during sleep.
The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. There are several coat colour morphs ranging from black to red. Red coats are most common in Great Britain; in other parts of Europe and Asia different coat colours coexist within populations, much like hair colour in some human populations. The underside of the squirrel is always white-cream in colour. The red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November. A lighter, redder overall coat colour, along with the ear-tufts in adults and smaller size, distinguish the red squirrel from the eastern grey squirrel.
In Great Britain, Ireland and in Italy, red squirrel populations have decreased in recent years. This decline is associated with the introduction by humans of the eastern grey squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis) from North America. However, the population in Scotland is stabilising due to conservation efforts.
The red squirrel eats mostly the of trees, neatly stripping conifer cones to get at the seeds within,Krauze-Gryz DAGNY, Gryz, JAKUB. 2015. A review of the diet of the red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris) in different types of habitats. Red squirrels: ecology, conservation & management in Europe. European Squirrel Initiative, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2LG, England, pp.39-50. fungi, nuts (especially but also beech, chestnuts and acorns), Berry, , garden , tree sap and young shoots. Forestry Commission – Red Squirrels . Forestry.gov.uk. Retrieved on 25 July 2013. More rarely, red squirrels may also eat bird eggs or nestlings. A Swedish study shows that out of 600 stomach contents of red squirrels examined, only 4 contained remnants of birds or eggs.
Excess food is put into caches called "middens", either buried or in nooks or holes in trees, and eaten when food is scarce. Although the red squirrel remembers where it created caches at a better-than-chance level, its spatial memory is substantially less accurate and durable than that of grey squirrels. Between 60% and 80% of its active period may be spent foraging and feeding. The red squirrel exhibits a crepuscular activity pattern. It often rests in its nest in the middle of the day, avoiding the heat and the high visibility to birds of prey that are dangers during these hours. During the winter, this mid-day rest is often much briefer, or absent entirely, although harsh weather may cause the animal to stay in its nest for days at a time.
No territories are claimed between the red squirrels and the feeding areas of individuals overlap considerably.
During mating, males detect females that are in oestrus by an odour that they produce, and although there is no courtship, the male will chase the female for up to an hour prior to mating. Usually, several males will chase a single female until the dominant male, usually the largest in the group, mates with the female. Males and females will mate several times with many partners. Females must reach a minimum body mass before they enter oestrus, and heavy females on average produce more young. If food is scarce breeding may be delayed. Typically a female will produce her first litter in her second year.
The eastern grey squirrel and the red squirrel are not directly antagonistic, and violent conflict between these species is not a factor in the decline in red squirrel populations. However, the eastern grey squirrel appears to be able to decrease the red squirrel population for several reasons:
In the UK, due to the above circumstances, the population has today fallen to 160,000 red squirrels or fewer; 120,000 of these are in Scotland. Outside the UK and Ireland, the impact of competition from the eastern grey squirrel has been observed in Piedmont, Italy, where two pairs escaped from captivity in 1948. A significant drop in red squirrel populations in the area has been observed since 1970, and it is feared that the eastern grey squirrel may expand into the rest of Europe.
Although not thought to be under any threat worldwide, the red squirrel has nevertheless drastically reduced in number in the United Kingdom; especially after the eastern grey squirrel was introduced from North America in the 1870s. Fewer than 140,000 individuals are thought to be left in 2013; approximately 85% of which are in Scotland, with the Isle of Wight being the largest haven in England. A local charity, the Wight Squirrel Project, The Wight Squirrel Project – Home. Wightsquirrels.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 July 2013. supports red squirrel conservation on the island, and islanders are actively recommended to report any invasive greys. The population decrease in Britain is often ascribed to the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel from North America, but the loss and fragmentation of its native woodland habitat has also played a significant role.
In contrast, the red squirrel may present a threat if introduced to regions outside its native range. It is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 preventing it from being imported into the country.
Mainland initiatives in southern Scotland and the north of England also rely upon grey squirrel control as the cornerstone of red squirrel conservation strategy. A local programme known as the "North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership", an element of the national Biodiversity Action Plan was established in 1996. This programme is administered by the Grampian Squirrel Society, with an aim of protecting the red squirrel; the programme centres on the Banchory and Cults areas. In 2008, the Scottish Wildlife Trust announced a four-year project which commenced in the spring of 2009 called "Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels"."A new era for Scotland's red squirrels?" in Scottish Wildlife (November 2008) No. 66. Edinburgh.
Other notable projects include red squirrel projects in the Greenfield Forest, including the buffer zones of Mallerstang, Garsdale and Widdale; "Greenfield Forest declared England's newest Red Squirrel Reserve" daelnet.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2011 the Northumberland Kielder Forest Project; and within the National Trust reserve in Formby. These projects were originally part of the Save Our Squirrels campaign that aimed to protect red squirrels in the north of England, but now form part of a five-year Government-led partnership conservation project called "Red Squirrels Northern England" Red Squirrels Northern England. Rsne.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 July 2013. to undertake grey squirrel control in areas important for red squirrels. However, grey squirrels were found to outnumber red squirrels in both Cumbria and Northumberland for the first time. In Northumberland grey sightings were 25% higher than reds, and in Cumbria they were 17.3% higher.
On the Isle of Wight, local volunteers are encouraged to record data on the existing red squirrel population, and to monitor it for the presence of invasive greys; as the red squirrel is still dominant on the island, these volunteers are also requested to cull any greys they find. In order to protect existing populations, increasing amounts of legislation have been issued to prevent the further release and expansion of grey squirrel populations. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offense to release captured grey squirrels, indicating that any captured individuals must be culled. Additional rules covered under the WCA's Schedules 5 and 6 include limitations on the keeping of red squirrels in captivity, and also prohibits the culling of red squirrels.
Research undertaken in 2007 in the UK credits the pine marten with reducing the population of the invasive eastern grey squirrel. Where the range of the expanding pine marten population meets that of the eastern grey squirrel, the population of these squirrels retreats. It is theorised that, because the grey squirrel spends more time on the ground than the red, they are far more likely to come in contact with this predator.Watson, Jeremy (30 December 2007) "Tufty's saviour to the rescue". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh.
During October 2012, four male and one female red squirrel, on permanent loan from the British Wildlife Centre, were transported to Tresco in the Isles of Scilly by helicopter, and released into Abbey Wood, near the Tresco Abbey Gardens. Only two survived and a further 20 were transported and released in October 2013. Tresco's Red Squirrel Colony To Be Restocked. Scilly Today (18 June 2013). Retrieved on 25 July 2013. Although the red squirrel is not indigenous to the Isles of Scilly, those who supported this work intend to use Tresco as a "safe haven" for the endangered mammal, as the islands are free of predators such as , and of the Squirrel parapoxvirus-carrying grey squirrel.
The UK Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has proposed a method of non-lethal control of grey squirrels as part of a 5-year Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN) project. The planned method for control would be by administering oral contraceptives via a grey squirrel-specific feeder, which would selectively allow feeding based on body weight in order to avoid inadvertently distributing the contraceptive to red squirrels as well. This project has received National Lottery Heritage funding.
In Norse mythology, Ratatoskr was a red squirrel who runs up and down with messages in the world tree, Yggdrasil, and spreads gossip. In particular, he carried messages between the unnamed eagle at the top of Yggdrasill and the wyrm Níðhöggr beneath its roots.
The red squirrel used to be widely hunted for its pelt and is still used for modern furs. During the medieval period, squirrel pelts were used for cloak linings and for noble and . This prompted its extensive use in heraldry as the vair fur, one of the primary tinctures. In Finland, squirrel pelts were used as currency in ancient times, before the introduction of coinage. Verot 1500–1600 luvulla:Oravannahat . Holappa.info. Retrieved on 25 July 2013. The expression "squirrel pelt" is still widely understood there to be a reference to money. It has been suggested that the trade in red squirrel fur, highly prized in the medieval period and intensively traded, may have been responsible for the leprosy epidemic in medieval Europe. Within Great Britain, widespread leprosy is found early in East Anglia, to which many of the squirrel furs were traded, and the strain is the same as that found in modern red squirrels on Brownsea Island.
Full red squirrels also appear as heraldic charge, generally depicted upright and holding a nut.
"Ekorr'n satt i granen" ("The Squirrel sat in the fir tree") is a well-known and appreciated children's song in Sweden whose lyrics were written by Alice Tegnér in 1892.
Charles Dennim, protagonist of Geoffrey Household's novel Watcher in the Shadows, is a zoologist who studies and writes about red squirrels.
Squirrel Nutkin is a character, always illustrated as a red squirrel, in English author Beatrix Potter's books for children.
Projects
In January 1998, eradication of the non-native North American grey squirrel began on the North Wales island of Anglesey. This facilitated the natural recovery of the small remnant red squirrel population. It was followed by the successful reintroduction of the red squirrel into the pine stands of Newborough Forest. Red squirrel conservation, squirrel ecology, and grey squirrel management. Redsquirrels.info. Retrieved on 25 July 2013. Subsequent reintroductions into broadleaved woodland followed and today the island has the single largest red squirrel population in Wales. Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour is also populated exclusively by red rather than grey squirrels (approximately 200 individuals).
Cultural significance
The red squirrel is the national mammal of Denmark.
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