THE IRISH red squirrel is making a fightback against extinction from grey squirrels because Irish scientists have put a new twist on Oliver Cromwell’s old slogan and taken them out of “hell into Connacht”.
The native red squirrel has suffered a 20 per cent decline since the introduction of the North American grey squirrel 100 years ago and the more aggressive greys have colonised the east coast of Ireland pushing out the more timid Irish red.
While the grey squirrel has expanded its range from Derry to Wexford it has yet to make it across the Shannon and scientists have been catching red squirrels since 2006 and translocating them to areas in the west where they have become extinct.
A recent study by NUI Galway on the pilot translocation to Co Mayo and to Connemara suggested that the west may hold the key for the survival of the red squirrel in Ireland which is listed as “near threatened” in Ireland’s most recent Red Data List of Mammals.
The scientists said the project has proved a great success with evidence that the squirrels settled into their new surroundings and started breeding in a matter of months.
The squirrels were followed over three years using radio-tracking methods and hair tube surveys allowing researchers to keep track of the animals and also to monitor the two populations as they expanded and spread.
In the first project in 2005, red squirrels were relocated from Portumna to a site in Ballyclare, Connemara. The population at Derryclare has continued to increase since its 2005 translocation with three of the original 19 red squirrels still occupying the wood despite their advanced years.
Red squirrels were also taken to Bellek Wood near Ballina, Co Mayo, and this too has been very successful. The report, written by Catherine Waters and Dr Colin Lawton of NUI Galway, includes specific recommendations about the potential for future translocations.
“Translocations consistently fail if grey squirrels are present. Red squirrel translocation cannot be used in areas within the grey squirrel range, even where a grey squirrel eradication programme has been carried out. There is real potential, however, for remote woodlands in counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare and Kerry to host new red squirrel populations,” it concluded.