MEET Sciurus vulgaris

Sciurus vulgaris is the Latin name for the Eurasian Red Squirrel. It is distinct from the Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), which is commonly referred to as simply the grey squirrel, which is native to North America. Length: 20cm plus a tail of 18cm Weight: 280-350g Average lifespan: 3 years (maximum 5-6 years) Despite their name, red squirrels aren't always bright rusty red - some are pale brown, grey or almost black and their tails often go blond in summer. They are a lot smaller than greys, about half the size. Keep an eye out for their paws as these are usually still a rusty red/brown colour if it's a red. Here we see a red squirrel, but its tail and back are grey Here's what you might say is a classic red squirrel picture.

The native extent of the red squirrel The native extent of the grey squirrel Here's how to identify the difference between Red and Grey Squirrels, courtesy of the Wildlife Trusts Mid-Wales Red Squirrel Project

No, red and grey squirrels do not mate to produce hybrid young.

Spring time. They mate between January-February and June-July. Fertility in females depends on body condition, so individual females don’t necessarily become receptive to males at these times and may be mated in the middle of the year. Some females produce two litters in a year, whilst others produce one and some probably fail to breed at all.

You can tell this by looking at the teeth marks left behind in pine cones once they've been eaten. Left-handed squirrels hold the cone with the top towards the left and use their left paw to rotate the cone and right-handed squirrels do the opposite. But, the way to tell which hand they prefer, is to look at the spirals on the pine cone. Squirrels will start at the bottom and work their way upwards in a spiralling motion. If the spirals go anticlockwise then they are left handed, and if they go clockwise then they are right handed! If you look closely at the one pictured, you can see they go anticlockwise, and so we have a left handed squirrel! © Megan Owen, Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants.

You can see squirrels all year round because they don't hibernate. You may hear the scratching sound of a red squirrel's claws in the branches before you see it - and it might sit above you and chatter, stamp its feet or flick its tail if you surprise it and cause alarm. Red squirrels are active in the daytime but, like us, don't necessarily like being out in bad weather. They also enjoy an afternoon nap, especially when it's hot. From January into early spring watch for two or more red squirrels racing through the trees and spiralling up and down the trunks. These are mating chases, involving a receptive female followed by one or more ardent males!

Although ear tufts are a key characteristic that distinguishes reds from greys, they are not always present. It takes a while for the young kits to grow them, and adults lose them when moulting in the spring and autumn.

Red squirrels can jump more than 2m and survive a fall of more than 12m without injury. Squirrels can swim. Red squirrels have four fingers on each paw, plus a vestigial thumb, and five toes. Their double-jointed ankles allow them to go down a tree-trunk headfirst and they will happily hang upside down when visiting bird feeding stations! Squirrels, like all rodents, have an exceptionally good sense of smell. They can find buried food underneath 30cm of snow and know if a nut is rotten without opening it. In Finland, "squirrel pelts" were used as a currency before coins were introduced. Oravannakka, or "squirrel pelt" is still used there as an expression for money. In the original fairytale, Cinderella's slippers were made of red squirrel pelts. The French vair (fur) was corrupted to verre (glass), and so Cinders acquired glass slippers!

Red squirrels often live in coniferous woods, where you may find cones that have been nibbled under the trees – they look rather like apple cores. Squirrels can also be found in broadleaved woodland where they feast on hazelnuts in the late summer and autumn. They split some in half having eaten the nut inside, but they bury (or cache) others in their shells to provide a winter food source. Unfortunately, you cannot distinguish whether cones or shells have been left behind by red or grey squirrels. A red squirrel eating a hazelnut A red squirrel eating a pine cone

Red squirrels are widespread in Europe, but have largely been replaced by the grey squirrel in England, Wales and local pockets in Italy. They are absent from southern Spain and the Mediterranean islands. Red squirrels live in both conifer and broadleaved woodland. They can be found at altitudes up to 200m.

Red squirrels love seeds, particularly from pine, spruce and larch cones. It has been estimated that a single squirrel can eat the seeds from up to 20,000 cones in a year! They also eat nuts, fungi, shoots and fruits of shrubs and trees, bark, sap and sometimes birds' eggs and insects. A red squirrel can tell if a nut is good or bad just by shaking it in its paws. Look out for fungi placed high up on tree branches in the autumn: squirrels leave them out to dry before hiding them away for the winter, along with stores of seeds and nuts.

Dreys.

Yes, but the greys take over after a while so they only tend to share for 10-15 years. Red and grey squirrels eat the same types of tree seed including oak acorns. Interestingly, dietary studies have revealed that the greys are better able to extract the proteins and energy stored in acorns than are reds. Where oak is present in a landscape it therefore gives greys a competitive advantage. Grey squirrels are almost twice the weight of red squirrels and consequently require more energy per day. In upland spruce forests where tree seeds are smaller, grey squirrels find it difficult to eat enough to satisfy their basic needs and the smaller red squirrel is better able to survive. These facts help explain why regionally where grey squirrels are present, red squirrels persist for longest in coniferous stands. Both red and grey squirrels are, for rodents, relatively conservative breeders with adult females typically producing one or two litters annually; each of 1-8 young. In contrast there are behavioural differences between the species with greys spending 70% of their time active on the forest floor and red squirrels only 30%. This separation might act to reduce the amount of direct contact betwwen them, but as grey squirrels live at mush higher population densities in broadleaved woodlands than red squirrels, the high number of individuals acts to raise the potential for contact. There is however, relatively little direct interaction between the species and when it occurs it appears limited to the occasional aggressive interaction at a food source. Red and grey squirrels may use the same tree hollow or drey, albeit at different times, and they may also scent mark at the same locations. The possibility of these types of indirect interaction means that there always remains the potential for disease transmission between the species.

Red squirrels live in a sperical nest (drey) of approximately 30cm in diameter, which has a frame of twigs and is lined with moss and grass. The drey is usually at least 6m off the ground and may be in a hole in a tree or set against the trunk and branches. Each squirrel may use several dreys. They do not hibernate, but are less active when the weather conditions are bad and can remain in their dreys for several days at a time. Squirrels make more than one drey to confuse predators and in case one gets damaged. They will also abandon a drey if it is too full of fleas. Both reds and greys use dreys and often use each other's so you need to actually see a squirrel using one to know if reds or greys are the current residents.

Most importantly, look up for reds! Whereas greys spend 70% of the time active on the forest floor, reds spend 70% of their time in the tree canopy.

No, squirrels have no fixed partners.

A litter of 1-8 live young (usually 3-4). If there is a poor cone crop the previous autumn, first litters may not be born until the summer. Red squirrels can have two litters a year if there's plentiful food the previous autumn. In a really, really good year some can have three litters.

Red squirrels produce 1-2 litters a year between April and September.

Pregnancies last between 36-42 days.

The young are called kittens (kitts) and are born with their eyes closed, without teeth or hair. They are weaned at 10 weeks, at which point they are ready to leave the drey. Parental care involves only the female.

No, neither do grey squirrels. We just don't seem to see them as often in winter as they're hiding and keeping warm in their winter homes (dreys). Red squirrels unlike other small mammals do not hibernate and need to store enough food by 'caching'; burying it underground and stashing it in tree crevices (sometimes referred to as a larder) in autumn to see them through the winter months. They will also eat copious amounts in autumn, while food is plentiful to put weight on before the onset of winter and this is important for breeding females, to maintain good condition for producing young in the spring.

Be careful when you capture the said red squirrel as they have a very powerful bite! Put squirrel into a cardboard box with air holes, or preferably a cat or small animal carrier Keep squirrel as warm as possible with a fleece eg. Beany hat, [towels get caught in their claws} Cover box over with a sheet, keep squirrel in a dark quite place, RED SQUIRRELS ARE EASILY STRESSED Phone SSPCA 03000 999 999 for further advice If you live in the Hawick area you can contact Hawick Vets 01450372038 who will gladly accept the red squirrel. IMPORTANT ; CONTAIN, WARMTH, DARK, QUIET ROOM. For further information please contact us at bordersredsquirrels@gmail.com

Arboreal predators include small mammals, such as the pine marten, wildcats and the stoat, which preys on nestlings; birds, including owls and such as the goshawk and buzzards, may also take the red squirrel. The red fox, cats and dogs can prey upon the red squirrel when it is on the ground. Humans influence the population size and mortality of the red squirrel by destroting or altering habitats, by causing road casualties, and by introducing non-native populations of the North American eastern grey squirrels.

The decline of red squirrels is largely caused by interaction with grey squirrels. Red squirrels are our native species and have lived in the UK for around 10,000 years. Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK from North America by the Victorians in the 1800s. The first record of them escaping and establishing a wild population is 1876. Greys threaten red populations in two ways: 1) Greys carry disease 60% of grey squirrels in England and Wales carry the squirrelpox virus. While they are unharmed by the virus, it is lethal for red squirrels. 2) Greys crowd out the reds Greys eat seven times more food perhectare than reds. They aggressively compete for food, crowing out reds until juist the greys are left. Grey squirrels compete more successfully than red squirrels for food and habitat, they are larger and more robust, and can digest seeds with high tannin content, such as acorns, more efficiently. Habitat loss has also contributed to the red squirrel's decline. Habitat loss and fragmentation occurs when areas of woodland are destroyed or become separated by development and changing land-use. This leads to isolated areas which cannot sustain viable populations of wildlife, including red squirrels.

Try the following organisations who are involved in red squirrel conservation Scotland's red squirrels Scottish Wildlife Trust Red Squirrel Survival Trust Trees for Life Red squirrel videos from the Scottish Wildlife Trust Red squirrel assault course Central Borders Red Squirrel Network is not responsible for the content of these external sites.

Bigger than the red squirrel (400-650g 24-29cm long + tail) They compete for food They have more young They may carry the Squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to reds, but does not affect the greys Introduced in the 1870s as an invasive species - once trapped, it is illegal to release Lifespan 2-5yrs Estimates suggest that they cost Scottish economy £250m a year (destroying forestry, damage to housing)