Red squirrel?

olly_mac

I was in Glasnevin cemetery recently, and think I may have seen a red squirrel. The light was bad, but the creature was small, and I think I saw the ear tufts... not 100% sure, but has anyone else spotted one?

Ulmus

There were red squirrels in the Botanic Gardens in the 1970s. The OPW should cull the grey squirrels that are there now and let the reds back in.

magicbastarder

there has been culling of greys in the botanic gardens. the numbers recover very quickly though.

OpenYourEyes

I'd imagine the botanic gardens are more or less surrounded by areas with Greys? In which case a cull with a view to helping Reds would be pretty pointless imo. Unless you're culling Greys from/along the edge of their range, and putting in a serious effort at that, there's no real point because the greys from the surrounding areas will envelope the cull area in a relatively short space of time.

To answer your question OP, from what I know the closest population of Reds is in Howth (mentioned here amongst other places), so it seems more likely to have been a Grey that you saw!

olly_mac

Aye, more than likely a grey, but one can live in hope I will be back out there at the weekend, so will keep a sharp eye out.

Thanks folks.