"Pine martens may be the key to defending some of the last strongholds of the native red squirrel against invading American greys, according to new research."
"Scotland is host to about 75 per cent of the British population of 160,000 red squirrels, which are under attack from 2.5 million greys, some of which carry the squirrel pox virus which is fatal to the native reds.
"Even in Scotland, red squirrels have already been lost from an extensive area in the Central Belt and are now found primarily in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll, Perthshire, Grampian and the Highlands.""
The main hope against the American grey squirrel is the Pine Marten, a small type of weasel-like creature. In areas where pine martens have moved in, grey squirrel numbers have dropped. Grey squirrels and pine martens both feed on the forest floor. The theory goes that the pine martens chase away the grey squirrels. The red squirrels feast mainly up in the forest canopy, and are therefore less in competition with the pine martens then they are the grey squirrels. (The grey squirrels and the red squirrels share similar living spaces, while red squirrels and pine martens do not.)http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
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