Gray squirrels may not look so smart when they’re frantically burying acorns they may never find again, but they appear to be smarter than the red squirrels found across the pond. Ever since gray squirrels arrived in the U.K. from North America more than a century ago, numbers of Great Britain’s native red squirrels have […]
Tag: Sciurus carolinensis
‘Kill them, kill them, kill them’: the volunteer army plotting to wipe out Britain’s grey squirrels
One snowy dawn in March, I went hunting for squirrels in the Lake District. In the silent and empty woods beneath the Aira Force waterfall, the only thing moving was a solitary red squirrel, balanced on a nut-filled feeder hanging from a tree. If you grew up, as I did, with the grey squirrel, seeing […]
POLL: Should the grey squirrel be culled to protect red squirrels?
The squirrels look as though they make everyday life into a game; they have the kind of mischievous intelligence once attributed by folklore to hidden, supernatural creatures such as fairies, elves, goblins and the like. These grey and ginger squirrels are tricky. To some people they are a delight to watch; to others they are […]
Gray Squirrels versus Red Squirrels – The Facts
Grey Squirrels Native to North America, the grey squirrel was brought to Victorian Britain as an ornamental species by the aristocracy. Today, these highly intelligent and adaptable animals can be seen in woodlands, parks and gardens across the country. While many people have great affection and respect for grey squirrels, they are hated by members […]