Mid Wales Red Squirrel Partnership – May 2016

Many people in the mid Wales, and within the Red Squirrel Focal Site in particular, have reported that they have not seen many, or even any, grey squirrels this year.  A phenomenon which I think, at least partially, can be attributed to our trapping efforts, nearly 1,170 taken out in the last 12 months by Trap Loan Scheme members. Although grey squirrel numbers still appear to be high in other regions of  Britain, theories  have been put forward which may also partially account for the apparent drop in the local grey squirrel population, such as persistent wet weather over the winter months causing cached food supplies to decay. Grey squirrels depend much more on stored food than reds, so, if their food stores are rotten this could be one factor affecting their decline. As far as the red squirrel goes, this is all to the good, of course! Unfortunately, when numbers are low, it takes much more time to catch any grey squirrels do turn up.   Read more>>