Plan to save red squirrel begins

A plan to save the red squirrel from extinction is under way on a pilot basis in the west of Ireland.

Under the plan, red squirrels are being trapped and relocated to areas where they are more likely to thrive. The red squirrel population has been in serious decline in recent years, mainly because of the rival grey squirrel population.

Greys are prolific breeders and they out compete the reds for food in any broadleaf or mixed woodland. They also come out from hibernation earlier.

It is estimated that there are about 50,000 red squirrels in the State, compared with 250,000 greys. Red squirrels usually disappear within 20 years of grey squirrels arriving in a woodland.

The Department of the Environment's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has just overseen the translocation of 15 red squirrels from Portumna National Park in Co Galway to Derryclare Wood in Connemara.

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has just given approval for a second translocation, this time to Belleek Wood in Co Mayo.

A feasibility study by Dr Colin Lawton at the Department of Zoology in NUI Galway has found that Belleek Wood could support a population of up to 65 red squirrels.

The NPWS will now contract a squirrel ecologist to locate a suitable group of squirrels for relocation.

They will then be trapped and transferred, under strict guidelines from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

This work is due to start in the coming weeks and could take up to a year to complete.

The Belleek Wood Enhancement Group is working with Coillte, which owns the wood, to improve the habitat before the arrival of the first batch of squirrels.

The pilot project is focusing on this area because reds have a better chance of survival in woodlands west of the Shannon. The grey squirrel population is mainly concentrated in the eastern half of the island, from Derry to Wexford.