Red Squirrels: A Native Species Fighting For Survival
By Archie McFadzean
When we think of Scottish wildlife, a few animals come to mind, be that the recently introduced beaver or the wild salmon, but nothing stands out more than the native red squirrel.
Over the past several years there has been a significant decline in their population across the whole of the UK. According to data from the UK Squirrel Accord: “The red squirrel population in the UK has faced significant decline, with estimates suggesting fewer than 30,000 red squirrels left in Great Britain.”
Even though this data may be alarming, there are many initiatives in place to help revive and conserve their number before it's too late. For example, in rural Stirlingshire, one of the most successful initiatives is led by Ruth Holmes.
She patrols country roads surveying the squirrel population and tries to prevent them from being struck by cars. She has also made and placed lots of signs with a red squirrel painted on them to encourage people to watch their speed and to be aware that squirrels are active in those areas.
This has considerably reduced the number of squirrels being struck by cars, and now it is uncommon to see bodies on the road.
According to data from the UK government, “In 2024, 37% of people in Scotland were highly engaged with the issue of biodiversity loss.” Though this data doesn't directly target red squirrels, it does show a deep passion for their conservation and the wider point that Scottish people want to keep our native creatures for future generations.
However, it's not just humans that are causing the decline in the number of red squirrels. While we are one of the main factors in their decline, the most widely discussed reason is their habitat competition with grey squirrels, who are not native to the UK and were introduced by the Victorians in 1876.
Grey squirrels are much larger than reds, and this causes them to be more successful when hunting for food and territory. This leads the red squirrels being pushed out of the areas they have populated for hundreds of years.
The most negative attribute of the grey squirrel is that they carry diseases that are fatal to red squirrels. So, what can be done about this to keep both varieties safe it was suggested that we could cull the number of greys to help stop the spread of these diseases. However, this was abandoned.
Another idea that was put forward by King Charles considered lacing Nutella with contraceptives to manage the grey squirrel population.
In some areas across the UK, they have set up areas of woodland that are purely for red squirrels, and this is maintained by groups of volunteers and trail cameras. This has had a very positive effect on their population.
If these efforts continue, there is little to no reason why the red squirrel population cannot make a steady advance to their former numbers.