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RSST has embarked on a project to protect the red squirrels of Merseyside in partnership with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Save Our Squirrels (SOS) and the National Trust. The Merseyside Red Squirrels Project aims to build on the encouraging recent signs that the red squirrel population there has not only stabilised but begun to recover. It had been feared that red squirrel numbers may have declined to a point where they could not naturally repopulate. Merseyside has long been home to red squirrels: in the coniferous woodlands of Formby on the Sefton coast; in private and institutional landholdings along the coast; and in woodlands, parks and gardens from Southport to St. Helens. There is a widespread misconception that red squirrels are confined to the National Trust reserve at Formby Point but this is not the case. They are found in a much wider area: along a 25 kilometre stretch of the coast, including the urban areas, from Crosby in the south to Southport in the north, and in isolated woodlands inland up to 10 kilometres from the refuge area in West Lancashire. In addition, there is a separate, smaller population, centred on the Earl of Derby’s estate at Knowsley Park to the east of Liverpool, which extends north and north-east through St. Helens and into Wigan. In fact, the designated refuge area covers a larger area of 410 hectares in 25 ownerships, the largest of which is Natural England’s. Sadly, from 2006 to 2008 a squirrelpox outbreak decimated the local population and spread swiftly, reducing the refuge area population from approximately 1,000 to approximately 100-150 red squirrels. For an update on the latest progress of the project click here. |
