Work to bring back red squirrels to Scottish woodland has won widespread praise as efforts intensify to boost numbers of the much-loved native species.
Dr Aileen McLeod, minister for environment and climate change at Holyrood, last night paid tribute to the work of Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels SSRS, which has had success in increasing red squirrel numbers in the north-east
It work in establishing the red squirrel population in Hazlehead Park has been particularly effective, with the organisation also seeing significant results in Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.
SSRS, a group which fuses the efforts of charity, governmental and land owning groups, works hard to preserve the native red population partly by preventing further spread of grey squirrels from the north of England.
RSPB Scotland yesterday announced it is to officially join forces with SSRS in its 80 nature reserves across the country.
Dr McLeod said: “Scotland has adopted a pioneering approach to protecting our red squirrel population, which involves a number of organisations working together.
“The numbers of red squirrels in Scotland are increasing and are now returning to their former habitats. This has been most notably in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, and the north-east of Scotland where people are once again seeing red squirrels visiting the bird feeders in their gardens.”
She added: “I am also delighted that RSPB Scotland are now involved in SSRS, who will bring a wealth of knowledge to the project, which will benefit red squirrel conservation in Scotland.”
The UK’s red squirrel population has been decimated over the last century following the arrival of the invasive grey species, which competes with the native reds for food and habitat, as well as carrying the deadly squirrelpox virus.
Since 1952, 95% of the red squirrels in England and Wales have been wiped out, and today 75% of the UK’s remaining red squirrel population lives in Scotland.
Mel Tonkin, project manager for SSRS said: “SSRS has already been successful in beginning to reverse the downward trend for red squirrels in Scotland, but our work will need to continue for many years to really secure the future of the species.”
“We are therfore delighted with this new partnership with RSPB Scotland.
“The RSPB has plenty of experience in the challenges of long-term species conservation and brings with it the opportunity to get a lot more people engaged in red squirrel conservation.”
Stuard Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said the group had been “very impressed” with the work of SSRS and said it represented the “very best chance” of preventing extinction of the species on the British mainland.
He said teaming up with the group would also allow for more charitable funds to be channelled into saving the red squirrel.