Formby’s red squirrels fighting back from verge of extinction

Jul 13 2009 by Ian Hernon, Liverpool Daily Post

Mr Perry stressed that wardens who carry out the culling only do so when they have consulted local landowners and residents.

In January the Daily Post revealed shock new figures showing there could be less than 100 red squirrels left in Merseyside.

Wildlife experts said the population of the rare species in Formby and Ainsdale pine woods had crashed due to an epidemic of squirrel pox, which swept the area in the past two years.

While the virus does not harm grey squirrels, it is fatal to reds.

Numbers in Merseyside had shrunk to 40% of the population’s normal size by spring in 2008 and to 20% by early last autumn.

Volunteers have surveyed the pine woods six times a year to create an accurate picture of the state of the red squirrel breed.

The smaller reds are the only native squirrels in Britain.The greys were imported from America.

They outbreed reds and eat up food supplies and habitats which the reds need to survive.