The Ministry of Defence has joined the fight against grey squirrels. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has installed pine marten den boxes at the Kirkcudbright Training Area. Non-native grey squirrels have displaced reds on the Balmae area of the site near Dundrennan but research has shown where pine martens are encouraged the more cautious reds flourish. There […]
Tag: pine marten
Nearly half of Britain’s biodiversity has gone since industrial revolution
Almost half of Britain’s natural biodiversity has disappeared over the centuries, with farming and urban spread triggered by the industrial and agricultural revolutions being blamed as major factors for this loss. That is the shock finding of a study by scientists at London’s Natural History Museum, which has revealed that the UK is one of […]
Wildcats return to Netherlands after centuries’ absence
They disappeared centuries ago, but wildcats have returned to the forests of the southern Netherlands, local conservationists have said. The wildcat, which has longer legs and a flatter head than its domestic cousin, disappeared from modern-day Dutch territories in the middle ages as a result of hunting and forest clearance. The return of the animal, […]
Scottish forests could save red squirrel from extinction
Twenty forest strongholds in Scotland would save the red squirrel from extinction even if grey squirrels were to colonise the whole of Britain, according to research. Since their introduction from North America by Victorian enthusiasts, grey squirrels have pushed red squirrels out of much of the country, with reds outcompeted by the bigger greys and […]
A forestry boom is turning Ireland into an ecological dead zone
We all love trees. We think of woods and forests as green lungs, peaceful spaces, brimming with wildlife. So when Europe’s least forested country, Ireland, sets a target to increase tree cover from 11% to 18% by 2046, we should all applaud, shouldn’t we? Unfortunately the new woodland rising across Ireland is an ecological dead […]
Pine marten spotted in Kielder forest for first time in 90 years
The pine marten, a fearsome but diminutive predator driven to extinction in England, has returned to the country’s largest forest for the first time since 1926. Stills and video from a camera trap have recorded a mature pine marten devouring peanut butter put out for red squirrels at a secret location in Kielder forest, Northumberland. […]
Pine Martens Could Save the UK’s Red Squirrel Population
The reintroduction of pine martens in Scotland has been controversial, but data from a new study revealsa potential bonus: These cat-sized predators could help the beleaguered red squirrel to bounce back. The study, which appears this month in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society B,” suggests that while pine martens prey on red squirrels, […]
How to eradicate grey squirrels without firing a shot
Is there anything more stupid than the government’s plan to kill grey squirrels? I ask not because I believe – as Animal Aid does – that grey squirrels are harmless. Far from it: they have eliminated red squirrels from most of Britain since their introduction by Victorian landowners, and are now doing the same thing […]