• Action to save the red squirrels
• A dramatic response to the control of grey squirrels
• A red squirrel reintroduction programme
• The future

History of red squirrels on the island

Accounts suggest that the red squirrel population then declined sharply, as during the early 1990s sightings were relatively scarce. By 1997, it was believed that the species was only present within the coniferous plantations of Mynydd Llwydiarth (mixed spruce, larch and pine habitat) and Newborough forest (Corsican pine dominated plantation). Sadly, the results of widespread trapping during 1998 suggested that the red squirrel was extinct in Newborough forest and the species could only be found within Mynydd Llwydiarth.

A programme of red squirrel conservation on the island began in January of 1998. This was primarily based upon the systematic control of grey squirrels through cage trapping. (back to top of page)

Action to save the red squirrels

It is now known that at that time, the remnant Anglesey red squirrel population numbered no more than 40 adults. This population was resident within the 244 hectare commercial conifer plantation of Mynydd Llwydiarth and was sympatric with significant numbers of grey squirrels. Several thousand grey squirrels were also found within broadleaved woodlands elsewhere on the island.

Grey squirrels were eradicated from the Mynydd Llwydiarth plantation and control operations reduced immigration pressure significantly. In the period 2000-2002 only three grey squirrels were trapped within this conifer woodland. The red squirrel population responded positively to grey squirrel control with a dramatic increase in spring adult numbers and an expansion of the population distribution within the forest. (back to top of page)

A dramatic response to the removal of grey squirrels

Favourable rates of adult red squirrel survival and reproduction were initially combined with extremely high local juvenile recruitment (75%) to produce a doubling in the red squirrel population by spring 2000. In the following two years the population approached the carrying capacity of the plantation and juvenile recruitment rates fell to 40% (during 2000/01) and then 16% (during 2001/02). In the spring of 2002, there were 80-95 adult red squirrels on the island

In the winter of 00/01 the first reliable records were received of red squirrels foraging within broadleaved stands adjacent to the plantation. In the summer of 2001 a litter was discovered in the hazel woodland of Wern-y-Wylan. During the autumn months it was common to find red squirrels from the forest exploiting the hazel nut crop at this site. However, live-trapping data indicated that there were also a small number of individuals that were solely resident within the broadleaved woodlands of Wern-y-Wylan and Plas Gwyn.

A red squirrel reintroduction programme

The continued geographical expansion of the red squirrel population in the Mynydd Llwydiarth area is somewhat limited. The woodlands immediately adjacent to the forest are relatively small and opportunities to disperse to more distant habitats are restricted by an absence of significant corridors e.g. hedgerows or other areas of woodland cover. Thus, to facilitate further expansion of numbers on the island, a red squirrel re-introduction programme began in 2003 within an isolated pine plantation.

The future

The work carried out in the first five years of the Anglesey Red Squirrel Project formed Stage 1 of a phased conservation programme. In the period 2003-07 (Stage 2) the emphasis will widen to encompass re-introduction of red squirrels, long-term habitat management and further integration of the red squirrel project into other socio-economic programmes managed by Menter Môn. It is anticipated that the red squirrel population will become one of the islands major natural attractions.

However, there remains much work to be done, and this cannot be done without the active support of the local community. (back to top of page )