Eurasian Red Squirrel

• Its decline in Britain is down to competition from the introduced American grey squirrel.
• The grey squirrel carries a virus (a parapoxvirus) that is lethal to red squirrels but harmless to itself.
• It feeds mainly on conifer seeds, hazelnuts and acorns.
• comportamientoIt buries its winter stores in caches scattered across its range and remembers roughly where they are through spatial memory, not smell alone.
• conservaciónIt is being displaced across much of Europe by the grey squirrel introduced from North America, which competes for food and carries a virus harmless to itself but lethal to the native species.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat & environment

Coniferous and deciduous forest right across Eurasia, from Britain to Japan

Birth weight

8 - 12 grams (some sources give up to 18 g)

Size at birth

Hairless, blind and with its ear canals still closed at birth

Sexual maturity

9-11 months (though the first successful litter usually comes in its second year)

Gestation / incubation

36-40 days

Litter / clutch size

1 to 8 young per litter (most commonly 3-6), up to 2 litters per year

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of 14.8 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust; Animalia.bio; Biology Dictionary; EBSCO Research Starters