Conservationists in Wales have stumbled upon a population of rare red squirrels in a remote part of the country. After the larger American grey squirrels were introduced to the area in the 19th century, the amount of the native British red squirrels has declined drastically to the point where they have become severely endangered.  The grey squirrels are the bullies of the English countryside, chasing off red squirrels, eating their food, occupying their habitats and spreading diseases that the smaller squirrels have been susceptible to.  Some researchers even believe that the grey squirrels fight and kill red squirrels that they find in their territory.

However, there are new facts that suggest red squirrels in the Tywi Valley area in the Cambrian Mountains are still in existence due to a unique genetic code.

 

Dr Lizzie Wilberforce of The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales said that the squirrels look the same as any other red squirrels, but their genotypes are unique and haven’t ever been found anywhere else. The Welsh red squirrel gene shows the animals are one of a kind and have been isolated from other populations of squirrels.

 

It hasn’t been determined how many of these animals are left because the forests that the creatures call home are so vast and the squirrels are so hard to pin down. Their scarcity also means it’s hard to study them to find out how they are using the habitats in the valley.

 

 

Workers, along with volunteers who are supported by the BBC Wildlife Fund and Countryside Council for Wales have already searched large regions of the pine forest looking for signs of the squirrels, such as chewed cones and nests in trees.

 

The survey was a success as they found signs of the red squirrels in just about every area of the forest they searched in. She said the project has now received additional funding from the Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species and Countryside Council for Wales, and they have now also been given permission to trap the animals for research purposes. The trapping will allow the project to study the behaviour and biology of these unique Welsh squirrels in the hopes of learning more about how they have evolved, and perhaps unlocking secrets that will allow other red squirrel populations to recover.

 

Nida Al-Fulaij, who is the development manager at the Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species, said that the organization realizes the red squirrels are one of Britain's most endangered mammals and they will support any efforts to protect them.