Field Mouse

Catalogue Number: PW012

The red squirrel is the only squirrel native to the British Isles.

Predominently people in the UK see the grey squirrel,its close relative.

The grey was introduced here from North America in the late 1800s, and now outnumbers the red squirrel by some twenty to one.

Grey squirrels displace red squirrels by taking the lion's share of the more common foods eaten by both species. Scotland now sustains around 75% of the UK's red squirrels, as grey squirrels carry a pox virus which causes a fatal disease in red squirrels. Even in Scotland the red squirrel is not safe. Grey squirrels have taken over in much of lowland Scotland, and they are thought to be spreading north. This chap was photographed in the Cairngaum mountains near Aviemore.