A new project to introduce a small breeding group of native Red Squirrels Sciurus vulgaris opens at The Yorkshire Arboretum on Saturday 1 April 2023. Made possible by generous support from The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund it offers an opportunity to learn more about this increasingly rare native mammal.<br /><br />The project will help boost Red Squirrel numbers in Britain by providing space for a new breeding<br />colony, whose offspring may be used for reintroduction projects. The three squirrels in the group<br />have come from participants in the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)<br />Red Squirrel Studbook network, which aims to ensure a genetically diverse population in captivity.<br /><br />Ben Paterson, Red Squirrel Officer at the Yorkshire Arboretum comments: “The Red Squirrels are<br />housed safely in an open-topped enclosure designed and built entirely by Yorkshire Arboretum<br />staff and volunteers. With a perimeter of steel panels with a non-grip coating and a 3m no-leap<br />zone all around, it is designed to keep Red Squirrels in and Grey Squirrels out. The fence circles<br />2500m 2 of ground, including a grove of oaks and other trees, in which the squirrels can live<br />naturally.”
