This amazing photo was captured by red squirrel volunteers Shelly and Andy Farrant.
Shelly and Andy are currently working for the Camping and Caravanning Club in the area. For several months they have visited woodlands each week to check for activity on squirrel feeders – picking up images of several visitors other than squirrels, as seen in the photo!
Their work is a great help to Keswick Red Squirrel Group’s rangers, helping them to understand where red squirrels and grey squirrels may be present.
The group, set up in March 2020, has a number of volunteer rangers and feeder monitors dedicated to helping the threatened, native red squirrels survive and thrive.
The grey squirrels pass on the squirrel pox virus which is harmless to them but almost always fatal to the reds – causing terrible lesions and blindness and potentially wiping out a red squirrel community in a matter of a few weeks. The only way to protect the population of reds is to control the grey squirrels.
For more information or to report sightings of reds or greys, email [email protected] or find the group on Facebook.
