Squirrels - red or grey, on the railways or otherwise: merged topic

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

Vote cast.

Although disappointed that there was no option: 'Eat Grey, spare Red.' 

Aw, shucks!

[Red Squirrel]

Meanwhile - where was that squirrel last Sunday?

[JayMac]

Squirrel's not travelled far from the location that started this topic.

Round the bend to Worcester Shrub Hill.

[Red Squirrel]

Tis true. Must try harder!

[Chris from Nailsea]

We have enjoyed some great humour and lively discussion on the subject of squirrels, on this railway forum ( ) - so I've now taken the opportunity to move and merge all such previous posts here, in this definitive topic on the subject. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Project launched to up Gwynedd's red squirrel numbers


There are now more than 700 red squirrels on Anglesey

Conservationists are working to boost red squirrel numbers in north Wales.

There were fewer than 40 adult red squirrels on Anglesey 18 years ago but now, largely down to a major cull of grey squirrels, numbers have grown to more than 700.

Community groups on Anglesey will now advise residents in Gwynedd on ways to improve woodland habitats, erect nest boxes and monitor populations.

Anglesey has the largest single population of red squirrels in Wales.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Ambulance called for dead Epping Forest squirrel

An ambulance service has urged people to think before they dial 999 after they received a call about a squirrel injured in a "hit-and-run".

The caller told the 999 handler how the animal had broken its neck after the accident in the Epping Forest area.

At first, the East of England Ambulance Service call handler assumes the victim is a person and seeks to confirm if an ambulance is needed. But it then emerged the victim was in fact a squirrel - which was dead.

Gary Morgan, eastern regional head of emergency operations centres, said: "We prioritise all life-threatening calls to get the quickest possible response. However, that response can be affected if our call handlers and front-line staff are dealing with inappropriate 999 calls."

 

[Rhydgaled]

We need fewer (if any) Grey Squirrels, but you may not need a shotgun. Apparently, culling them doesn't even work very well, their populations recover quickly. A better approach, it is claimed, is to scare the grey squirrels into leaving, using pine martens. Sounds a bit too good to be true to me, but if it works...

[chrisr_75]

Slightly tenuous FGW^▸ (First Great Western) link, but the story made me smile. I do hope it was not the Coffee Shop's own resident squirrel?!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-33541502

A "drunk" squirrel has caused hundreds of pounds of damage at a private members' club.

The secretary of Honeybourne Railway Club said he originally thought someone had broken into the premises, near Evesham in Worcestershire.

The floor was covered in beer and glasses and bottles smashed, Sam Boulter said.

Mr Boulter, 62, said he then saw a squirrel "staggering around" after coming out from behind a box of crisps.

'Turned on the taps'

He added: "There were bottles scattered around, money scattered around and he had obviously run across the bar's pumps and managed to turn on the Caffrey's tap.

"He must have flung himself on the handle and drank some as he was staggering around all over the place and moving a bit slowly.

"I've never seen a drunk squirrel before. He was sozzled and looked a bit worse for wear, shall we say."

Mr Boulter, who estimated he lost about ^300 in the incident, eventually caught the squirrel in a waste paper bin and released it out of the window.

[BerkshireBugsy]

He must have been nuts

[Palfers]

hope he wasn't looking for nobbys  nuts!

[BerkshireBugsy]

I wonder if he had been drinking Carling Black Label  (Who else remembers this being on Telly!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9GBl7UmVs

[Red Squirrel]

It could have been a vexed squirrel trying to drown its sorrows over the sad state of affairs at Broadway... however, things seem to be improving on that front: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=2350.msg179399#msg179399

[TonyK]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-33541502

Mr Boulter, who estimated he lost about ^300 in the incident, eventually caught the squirrel in a waste paper bin and released it out of the window.

Section 14(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) states that:

...if any person releases or allows to escape into the wild any animal which^

(a)is of a kind which is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state; or

(b)is included in Part I of Schedule 9,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

Part I of Schedule 9 does indeed include grey squirrel. Mr Boulter may have been better advised to have requested anonymity.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed: I have it on the best of authority that if the RSPCA have to treat or otherwise deal with a grey squirrel, the squirrel always apparently manages to 'escape' at the end of the incident, rather than 'be released'.