Endangered species fights back across South Lakeland (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Endangered species fights back across South Lakeland

5:00pm Monday 15th February 2010 in

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RED squirrels are fighting back across South Lakeland with a reported increase in numbers over the past six months.

A national survey carried out by the Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST), which measured public perceptions, has shown that the population of the endangered species in north Cumbria has remained stable but the south of the county has experienced a rise in numbers.

Reds were sighted returning in the Easdale Valley and Redbank, Grasmere, and Hawkshead and also in Firbank, Cowgill, Garsdale, Dentdale and Sedbergh.

South Cumbria was the only area in the UK where grey populations were reported to be reducing.

The RSST, Natural England and Forestry Commission’s grey squirrel control fund provides cash for local groups such as the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society to control greys using traps.

Jackie Foott, of Northern Red Squirrels Cumbria, the umbrella organisation for local volunteer groups in northern England, said: “The results are encouraging.

"Volunteers are at the heart of grey squirrel control and we welcome these signs that our efforts are bearing fruit.

“At the same time we remain cautious. Real progress takes time and we will look forward to see how the picture develops in the coming months and years.”

Elsewhere in the UK, the strongest perceptions of an increase in the endangered species were found in north east Scotland, the Isle of Wight and along the Sefton Coast in Lancashire.

The survey, which was conducted in December and is backed by Alan Titchmarsh who is an ambassador for RSST, asked whether people felt that red and grey numbers in their area were increasing, decreasing, or showed no change.

It will be conducted biannually to measure people’s experiences of red and grey squirrel population changes in their areas.

Dr Craig Shuttleworth, RSST national operations director, said red squirrel numbers are ‘proving resilient’, adding: “The real test now is to see what results we get when we next conduct the survey in May.”