Red Squirrel in New Forest.

[montagu]

Yesteday I saw a Red Squirrel in the New Forest. I watched it for about ten minutes, foraging on the ground and running around generally. There were plenty of Greys active in the same area.

Has there been a reintroduction of Reds into the New Forest? Never ever seen one there before- I live on the IOW so had no doubt about identification -it was 200% a Red.

[mbaldw]

As far as I know there hasn't been any attempt at reintroduction in the New Forest (as you say, the Grey population is still thriving). I suspect that the individual you saw was an escapee (from either zoo or private collection). I was shown photos recently of a similar case in West Sussex (a lady had a Red squirrel visiting her garden a few weeks ago). When I spoke to PTES and Red Squirrel Survival Trust, both told me that escapes happen more often than we might imagine and account for Reds turning up in some peculiar places.

Cheers,
Marc.

[montagu]

Thanks for the Feedback.

The location was very deep in the Forest, miles from any habitation. It was a very fit looking squirrel. I'm trying to find out more...