Red Squirrels:  Help from a predator?

Galloway Glens

Pine marten numbers are on the up - is that good news for red squirrels, bad for greys?

The red squirrel is an iconic native species of our woodlands, much loved by the British public. However, it is under extreme threat, principally due to competition and squirrelpox disease from the invasive and non-native grey squirrel. The pine marten is a native tree-climbing member of the weasel family, now in recovery from persecution, which preys on squirrels (amongst other things). Research suggests that the introduced grey squirrel is poorly adapted to evade the marten and suffers disproportionately from predation. So, is this part of the answer to slowing down or even reversing the march of the grey squirrel? The red squirrel is now living with the grey squirrel and its lethal pox over most of South Scotland. Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels and a host of volunteer groups are working to hold back or turn the tide in favour of the red. Research in Ireland and Scotland continues to investigate the relationships between the pine marten and these two squirrel species and their likely impact on the future for our red squirrel.Our speakers will be:
Giuliana Sinclair is the Community Engagement Officer for South West Scotland as part of the Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels project. In Dumfries &amp; Galloway, the project is developing community action by supporting the formation of volunteer-led local squirrel groups carrying out active red squirrel conservation on the ground. Before joining the project, Giuliana studied Ecology and Wildlife Conservation at Reading University and worked in two Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserves.

Peter Garson spent over three decades at Newcastle University teaching and conducting research in conservation biology, including work on red squirrels in the conifer plantations of Kielder Forest in Northumberland. He has also worked on the sex-life of the wren, pheasants in the Himalayas and black grouse on the Northumberland fells. After retirement he moved to Gatehouse of Fleet and has been Chair of the Gatehouse Squirrel Group since 2015. He was also the founding Chair of the Red Squirrel Forum for South Scotland, the umbrella body for 18 Squirrel Groups/Networks covering areas from Rhins &amp; Luce in the west to Berwickshire in the east.

Emma Sheehy is a mammal ecologist and Conservation Officer with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels in the North East of Scotland, where the project aims to eradicate the “island” population of invasive grey squirrels in Aberdeen. Prior to joining the Trust, Emma’s research focussed on the relationship between recovering pine marten populations and their impact on red and grey squirrel populations in Ireland and Scotland. 
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Red Squirrels: Help from a predator?

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