1. INTO THE WOODS A Comparison of Red and Grey Squirrels

2. RED SQUIRREL GREY SQUIRREL History First type of squirrel in Britain Came from Europe around 10,000 years ago The Latin name is Sciurus Vulgaris They are in the group of animals known as rodents History Introduced to England, Scotland and Ireland from North America during Victorian times (1800’s). Population increased dramatically at the beginning of the 2,000’s. The Latin name is Sciurus Carolinensis

3. RED SQUIRREL GREY SQUIRREL Description Warm reddish-brown fur in summer Deep brown fur with grey in the winter Their belly is always cream They have a bushy tail and ear tufts Their head and body length is 18-24cm Their tail length is 14-20cm Their weight is 250-350g They Have 4 fingers and 5 toes Description Winter fur is dense and silver grey with a brown tinge along the middle of its back Their summer fur is yellowish- brown Their belly is always white They have a bushy grey tail They have ears without tufts Their head and body length is 25-30cm Their tail length is 20-25cm Their weight is 350-600g

4. RED SQUIRREL GREY SQUIRREL Habitat Mainly conifer forests, broad leaf woodland, Scots Pine and Norway Spruce forests Males may live in an area of up to 17 Hectares of woodland (about the size of 34 football pitches) They live high in trees in a nest made from twigs, leaves and moss Their nest is called a drey The drey may be in a hole in the tree or set against the trunk and branches Habitat They live in woodland and urban areas They prefer mature deciduous woodland but also common in parks and gardens in towns and cities They build dreys the size of a football made from twigs with leaves still attached They may take over another birds nest e.g. A rooks nest They may build several dreys

5. RED SQUIRREL Food They eat mainly tree seeds In spring and early summer they eat buds, flowers and shoots from both deciduous and coniferous trees In winter they eat seeds and nuts that they have buried in the ground GREY SQUIRREL Food They eat hazelnuts, acorns, tree bark, fungi, buds, leaves, shoots, flowers & berries They will raid birds nests for eggs and young chicks

6. RED SQUIRREL Other facts They can live for up t 5-6 years in the wild They do not hibernate but are less active in bad weather conditions They mate between January and March They have a litter usually of 3-4 They can have 2 litters a year A baby squirrel is called a kitten Only the mother looks after the kitten Red squirrels can swim They moult their ear tufts once a year in late autumn

7. GREY SQUIRREL Other facts They breed twice a year, Dec – Feb and May - June There are usually 2-6 kittens in each litter The young leave the drey after 10 weeks They collect nuts & seeds in the autumn and bury them in scattered places all around the woods and gardens (caches) They have a very good memory and sense of smell which helps them to find their caches weeks or months later Many caches remain uneaten which allows the nuts and seeds to grow producing more trees in the woodland They carry a virus called Squirrel Pox Virus

8. RED SQUIRREL versus Grey SQUIRREL Red females rarely breed when grey squirrels are around their habitat, so as the adult reds grow old and die, there are not enough juveniles to survive into adulthood so the reds become extinct in that colony Red squirrels don't survive as well in oak woodland as grey squirrels have a better digestive system and eat more as they are bigger and need more energy Likewise, grey squirrels don't survive in coniferous woodland as there is not enough energy available for them Grey squirrels carry the Squirrel Pox virus but do not suffer from it as they also have antibodies. They transmit the infection to each other and to red squirrels. Red squirrels get severe skin ulcers and die Only a few grey squirrels are needed to kill off a colony of red squirrels There are projects around the UK to control the number of grey squirrels which will allow red squirrels to breed more and stop them from becoming extinct.

9. SUMMARY

10. I NEED A HERO!!!!