Red Squirrel Forum for South Scotland
Red Squirrels need our help
The red squirrel is native to Britain and Ireland, but it is now absent from most of England and Wales and seriously threatened in Northern England and South Scotland. This is primarily the result of losing out in competition with the North American grey squirrel since it was introduced to the UK almost 150 years ago. There are estimated to be only 160,000 red squirrels left in Britain, of which about 75% are in Scotland, with over 2.5 million greys now present. The red squirrel used to occur throughout the UK, but it is now formally classified as a threatened native species. The grey squirrel is listed as an Invasive Non-Native Species. The continuing threat from the grey squirrel is mainly caused by the squirrelpox virus which it carries without any ill effects. This virus is almost invariably lethal to the red squirrel and results in their rapid replacement by grey squirrels. Only red squirrels inhabit the Scottish Highlands, but they have been completely replaced by their competitor in the Central Belt. In South Scotland and Northern England, the two species overlap and grey squirrel control is required if the red squirrel is to be saved in these areas. The Red Squirrel Forum for South Scotland is an umbrella organisation for the 17 volunteer red squirrel groups and networks which are working to conserve red squirrels in the region.
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About Red Squirrel Forum for South Scotland
The goal of this Forum is to promote the long-term conservation of red squirrel populations in South Scotland through volunteer action. It was formed in January 2018 to create a collaborative support network for volunteer groups across South Scotland and to give all volunteers a collective voice. The Forum also strives to ensure that volunteer efforts across the Scottish-English border are complementary, through working with Northern Red Squirrels, our sister forum covering Northumberland and Cumbria. A network for all volunteers working to conserve the red squirrel in South Scotland An umbrella to represent the views of its volunteers A contact point at public events, and via social media and online The Forum includes all volunteers working for each of the 17 Squirrel Groups/Networks in South Scotland. If you click on the areas covered by these groups/networks on the map (below), you can find out more about each of them and see how to get in touch. The Forum and its groups/networks operate in partnership with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels and Red Squirrels Northern England and through grant-aided projects led by the Scottish, Northumberland and Cumbria Wildlife Trusts.
All about squirrels
Here you can read all about our native red squirrel, the invasive grey squirrel and the problem we're trying to address.
And if you spot a red or grey there's a page on which you can report your sighting to help us with our conservation work.
See what's going on in your area and get involved