The Red Squirrel, the only native species of squirrel in the UK, is in danger of disappearing from our countrysides altogether. There are, however, woodland areas of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where it still survives.
By reporting your sightings of Red and Grey Squirrels you can help us build a clearer picture of their distribution in the National Park.
Red squirrel in treeReds and Greys - spot the difference
Surprisingly, it is often best to try and ignore the coat colour and look for the following key features:
Only Reds have the distinctive ear tufts - they are never present on Greys.
Only Greys have a white ‘halo’ of hairs around the tail - in Reds the tail may be pale all over.
The adult Red is slender and is approximately half the weight of an adult Grey.
To help people taking part, we have produced a leaflet containing more information about Red Squirrels. A PDF version of this leaflet can be downloaded by clicking the link below. For a hard copy - which you can post back to the Authority free of charge - contact Hawes National Park Centre.
Just make a note of the date, the place, including a grid reference, and the number seen.
Thank you for your help.
Squirrel conservation across the North of England
If you would like to find out more about squirrel conservation in the North of England, visit the Save our Squirrels website. Save our Squirrels, a Red Alert North England project, is currently the biggest single-species conservation project in the UK.
Managed and directed by Northumberland Wildlife Trust, the project has a budget of £1.15 million (half of which comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund) to provide red squirrel conservation and education activities through a team of seven dedicated squirrel officers.
Central to the success of the project is the creation and protection of 16 Red Squirrel Reserves in Northumberland, Cumbria and Lancashire. Activities are focused on the North of England as this is the last stronghold of the red squirrel in England, being home to approximately 80% of the remaining English population. However Save our Squirrels also works closely with red squirrel conservation officers and organisations in the rest of the UK – particularly the South of Scotland – to ensure the continued survival of this engaging little animal in the UK.
