Breakfast Time
The Eden Valley, in the bit of Cumbria which used to be Westmorland, remains a hot spot for red squirrels. In most parts of Britain, including swathes of Cumbria, reds have been rendered extinct thanks largely to the presence of the grey squirrel, a non-native species introduced from America in 1876. Greys, officially vermin, are roughly twice the size and have a distinct advantage when competing over food and habitat. More importantly, greys are immune to the squirrelpox virus which more than half of them carry, but it kills reds within two weeks. Symptoms include weeping pustules on the eyes, mouth and genitals. The British red population now numbers no more than 140,000 individuals, with 80 per cent of those found in Scotland. It is estimated that, without action, England's reds will disappear within a decade. Members of the Penrith & District Red Squirrel Group ruthlessly cull any greys reported and located, hence the reds' survival in Eden. This red, munching on a cob nut early in the morning, was captured at Galebars, between Waitby and Kirkby Stephen.
Breakfast Time
The Eden Valley, in the bit of Cumbria which used to be Westmorland, remains a hot spot for red squirrels. In most parts of Britain, including swathes of Cumbria, reds have been rendered extinct thanks largely to the presence of the grey squirrel, a non-native species introduced from America in 1876. Greys, officially vermin, are roughly twice the size and have a distinct advantage when competing over food and habitat. More importantly, greys are immune to the squirrelpox virus which more than half of them carry, but it kills reds within two weeks. Symptoms include weeping pustules on the eyes, mouth and genitals. The British red population now numbers no more than 140,000 individuals, with 80 per cent of those found in Scotland. It is estimated that, without action, England's reds will disappear within a decade. Members of the Penrith & District Red Squirrel Group ruthlessly cull any greys reported and located, hence the reds' survival in Eden. This red, munching on a cob nut early in the morning, was captured at Galebars, between Waitby and Kirkby Stephen.