norseman
21-09-2013, 08:13 AM
Two items of good news in today's newspapers.
First, A study carried out by the wildlife group, Red Squirrels Northern England, reports an increase of 7% in red squirrel numbers in the north since 2012. This brought about by a targeted campaign against the disease-carrying American grey squirrel. The native reds have been decimated by the disease carried by the grey. There are only about 140000 [est.] reds left but over 2 million greys in the wild, so a long way to go yet.
Secondly, More reds were taken to the Isles of Scilly to boost the numbers there, also increasing the genetic base of the population. Crucially, there are no natural predators on the island and NO GREYS !
First, A study carried out by the wildlife group, Red Squirrels Northern England, reports an increase of 7% in red squirrel numbers in the north since 2012. This brought about by a targeted campaign against the disease-carrying American grey squirrel. The native reds have been decimated by the disease carried by the grey. There are only about 140000 [est.] reds left but over 2 million greys in the wild, so a long way to go yet.
Secondly, More reds were taken to the Isles of Scilly to boost the numbers there, also increasing the genetic base of the population. Crucially, there are no natural predators on the island and NO GREYS !