Negative headlines dominate the media landscape - how nice it is when something is going in the right direction for at least some of our furry inhabitants. At least the native red squirrel in Scotland can be happy: After the foreign gray squirrel had spread there for a long time and increasingly displaced the red squirrel, conservationists were now able to stop this development - using admittedly brutal methods. In the end, people probably preferred to preserve what was their own.
No squirrel is illegal? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. They're both cute, but the red squirrel has been granted elder rights: The gray squirrel invasion of Aberdeen, Scotland, has apparently been stopped. Scottish Government-backed conservationists disagreed with the hardier gray squirrels displacing their red counterparts.
Of course, the gray rodents were allowed in themselves: in the 19th century, some specimens were brought from North America to Great Britain and released as beautiful exotic animals in the parks of stately homes. The larger gray squirrels thrived, had more offspring than their native counterparts and prevailed in the fight for living space and food. The newcomers turned out to be stronger and more robust - and were also immune to the squirrel pox virus that they brought with them from their old homeland and which has since become the downfall of many red squirrels. In the 1970s, gray squirrels spread into Aberdeen and almost completely displaced the red natives.
This development could now be reversed. Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (SSRS), run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, took action to save red squirrels: more than 10,000 gray squirrels have been captured in Aberdeen since 2009, according to a recent report in the Times “. Other organizations are also fighting against the gray “plague”. The unwanted fur balls are sterilized or killed . Feed with contraceptives was even developed: a corresponding nut cream was distributed at feeding stations so that the gray animals would not continue to multiply. The goal: the complete eradication of the gray squirrel in Scotland.
Successes are now being celebrated: “In Aberdeen we have noticed a steady and significant decline in the number of gray squirrels caught and the number of detections both in the form of sightings and hair samples at feeding stations over the last four years,” says Dr. Emma Sheehy, SSRS Program Scientific Director. In 2024, not a single gray squirrel has been trapped - and there have only been five confirmed sightings. Progress is also being made in other regions of Scotland. “How long it will take to achieve complete eradication will depend on our ability to remove the few remaining squirrels,” comments Sheehy. Hopefully the conservationists will not be threatened with racism lawsuits. At least the red squirrels should be happy…
