Originally Posted by
Aysa
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I love squirrels too...used to see many red ones on visits to Thetford Forest as kiddies,now sadly no more.
There are lots of greys in this area and they are a menace if you are driving as they often try to play "chicken" with drivers
Taken from our local paper...
Once thriving in Thetford Forest, the red squirrel has now all but died out in the area.
While it is unlikely it will ever become a common sight once again in Norfolk, the county is contributing to the re-introduction of the species in the wild, with participation in the East Anglia Red Squirrel Breeding Programme.
Earlier this week, the red squirrel was thrust into the spotlight once again by Prince Charles, who called for it to be made the country’s mascot. The prince, patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, had already called for the culling of the larger and more dominant grey squirrel.
“For me the battle for the red squirrel is iconic,” he said. “It wasn’t so long ago that reds were common all over Britain. The grey has to be one of the most disastrous introductions of foreign species there has ever been. I believe the red should become a national mascot.”
According to the Forestry Commission, there are just 140,000 red squirrels left in Britain but more than 2.5 million greys.
He said the animals once thrived in Thetford Forest, but a programme to re-introduce them more than 10 years ago had not been successful.
Both Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, near Fakenham, and Kelling Heath, in north Norfolk, are part of a breeding programme to send red squirrels to Anglesey each year where they are released into the wild as part of a co-ordinated effort to reinforce the declining local population.
A captive breeding area and three red squirrel enclosures have been built at Pensthorpe, with overhead runs allowing more natural behaviour patterns which, it is hoped, will make the transition to the release site in Anglesey less stressful.
PUBLISHED: 14:52 08 April 2011