Squirrel wars and straying sheep

The pine marten is proving a mixed blessing in the task of restoring wildlife

- Jamie Blackett

THE terseness of the text message belies the emotion that Bernie the Squirrel Man will be feeling: ‘Regret to inform you dead red found on Arbigland yesterday. Suspected squirrel pox; we have sent to lab, will let you know results.’ It’s a bitter blow after all our trapping of the grey invaders, especially by Bernie and other dedicated volunteers. The assumption had been that the local grey population is free of pox. That theory is quashed when the lab report comes back a few days later.

It may not be terminal for Nutkin, however. Nature allows perhaps 5% of red squirrels to survive the pox and pass on a resistant gene to their offspring. There is a small chance if we can keep killing the greys, but trapping is fraught with danger for reds, a percentage of which die of stress when trapped.

Meanwhile, there is mixed news on the Green State’s preferred weapon of choice, the pine marten. It is appearing to our north since its reintroduction, which may yet be seen as an act of state-sponsored terrorism on our fauna. Although it is undoubtedly true that grey squirrels are more susceptible to pine martens than reds, which have evolved alongside them, I suspect the last red-squirrel drey in Dumfries and Galloway, if it comes to that, is most likely to be predated by a pine marten.