Red squirrels
- Thread starter Keith_Reeder
- Start date
My neighbour also has a walnut tree. I have a nice line of sight from my first floor.
But I'm still trying to get a squirrel in that tree.
Upvote
0
Funny to answer after so many years but honestly I didn't look at this treat for a long wile... It's the Small Asian Mongoose!
Well, I have to read what I already posted
!
Last edited:
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
When I posted photos of squirrel from my trip to Bulgaria this year I was so fast to blame the American Gray as the "model" in my photos. Much later I found some interesting facts - see the links bellow!
Blacks are not the bad guys
A shadow whizzes through the trees. Let's see what it is - a squirrel. But wow: It's not red like we thought. It has a reddish-brown, almost black coat. Is it possibly an introduced gray squirrel?
www.waldwissen.net
Red squirrel vs grey squirrel: the key differences
We take a look at how the red squirrel differs to its American grey cousin
www.discoverwildlife.com
I agree with Alan that Cooldood's photos are of the American red (the common name "red squirrel" is ambiguous, it's why don't trust the common names!): the European Red Squirrel doesn't have the white on the chest to reach further up (I'm just comparing photos on the Internet!). And yeah - the Americans could be also red
Concerning the tufted ears: in the Summer the European Red may not have them! And for sure every single healthy European Red is taking the transformation from winter to - summer - to winter fur (not necessarily in the same time)! The tufts are "obligatory" in the winter time...
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Yes, they are an official pest. If you catch one you are not allowed to release it elsewhere. They out compete the smaller red and also carry a pox that hardly affects them but kills the red. There are just small enclaves of reds left here. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_grey__in_Europe
Upvote
0
Unfortunately not only in UK! And my humble opinion is that it's just a question of time to see them much, much further! I just hope the European Red will succeed to develop resistance to the virus coming with the American Gray, very long shot BTW! (and it wouldn't be enough!) - it really needs a human help!
Upvote
0
Pine Martins are good at eating Grey Squirrels while the Red Squirrels are smarter at avoiding them. My garden is infested with Greys and I hate them because the kill nestlings. http://www.britishredsquirrel.org/grey-squirrels/pine-martin/ Maybe I could find a Pine Martin as a pet.
Upvote
0
It's unfortunate that martins also prey on the red squirrels. I don't think they could be trained to only choose greys...
Upvote
0
I didn't guess the Reds were smarter in this respect. Maybe because they evolved together, the Red Squirrels developed some defensive instincts to protect them from the Pine Martins??
If it's legal for you to own a Pine Martin, I fully support this idea! I immediately thought if it interests you and you have enough time, you could set up a crowdfunding project to support the Pine Martin's care and trying to spread general awareness about the Grey and Red Squirrels. Something like if a person donates 50 pounds (plus shipping costs) they can get a print of a photo.
Upvote
0