Britain's grey squirrels endure through long-standing controversy

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — Britain's grey squirrels, one of the most visible wild mammal species across the country, has long been under the spotlight as its population is under "threat."

Both red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) and their grey cousins (Sciurus carolinensis) widely inhabit the UK's forests and cities. However, unlike red squirrels, sciurus carolinensis is not a native to the land.

Though many people delight to see the puffy tailed rodents scurry about, regardless of species, some have argued that the grey squirrel population needed to be taken under control as an invasive species that have allegedly harmed their native counterparts.

According to the Wildlife Trusts organization, grey squirrels, which were introduced to Britain in the late 19th century, far outnumber reds nearly 18 to one in the country. Today, they are visible in almost every garden, park, and woodland in the country, including in the capital London.

Speaking to Anadolu, on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day, Natalia Doran, an expert on grey squirrels and founding director of the Urban Squirrels organization, said grey squirrels had a "strange position" in the UK.

She said that while many people love these "very intelligent, agile, and clever" animals, some disliked them due to their foreignness.

"I don't know to what extent this is xenophobia, to what extent it is probably just wanting to kill something, covering it up with a fig leaf of conservation," opined Doran.

Refuting claims that Britain's red squirrels face danger of extinction due to the grey squirrels, she said red squirrel numbers had been dwindling well before grey squirrels were introduced due to deforestation.

"Red squirrels are not as adaptable as grey squirrels, where they need a very specific habitat in order to survive, kind of hundreds of acres — if not thousands — of forest, ideally, pine forests, whereas grey squirrels can live in our parks and gardens. They're extremely adaptable."

Doran, who calls red squirrels "so-called native" to Britain, explained that the British subspecies of the them had already gone extinct and were later re-introduced from Scandinavia over the of past 150 years.

"Nature chooses the animal, the habitat chooses the animal ... I'm very sad that there are culling activities (against grey squirrels) that are widespread, unfortunately," she stated.

- Journey from North America

Pointing to more friendly interactions between humans and grey squirrels, Doran said during COVID-19 lockdown, many people reported that they had become "lock-down buddies" with grey squirrels.

"Many people have said to me that grey squirrels helped them out of mental illness. One person even said they should be prescribed on the NHS (National Health Service)," noted Doran, adding that they were almost the only wild mammal that Londoners see during the day.

For many, these wild animals have become something of a "semi-pet," with many referring to favorite member of the species as "my squirrel."

"I admire them because of how intelligent they are, how adaptable they are," she said, describing the rodents, which arrive from North America, as the "ultimate survivor."

On their transatlantic journey to the UK, Doran said she believed grey squirrels were brought to Britain during the Victorian era as part of a movement called acclimatization.

At the time, it was "fashionable to move plants and animals between continents to try to establish them on different continents," she explained.

Doran further elaborated that this was considered a "kind of cutting-edge science," conducted to see whether grey squirrels could thrive in Britain.

Despite their centuries-long stay, however, "horrendous" legislation was passed a couple of years ago to ban the release of grey squirrels back into the wild in the UK.

Due to this situation, they are stuck with the squirrels they have but to deal with this she applied to a court for judicial review of this legislation.

Today, grey squirrels are spread out across England, Wales, and much of Northern Ireland, with a total population of about 2.5 million.