New arrivals – nine baby squirrels!

NINE baby red squirrels have been born at Warrington’s Walton Children’s Zoo – bringing the total number of squirrels bred at the zoon to 23.
For the first time, two “Mums” involved in the red squirrel breeding programme at the zoo have given birth at the same time.
One gave birth to four and the other – a first-time Mum – to five.
These babies are quite unusual as despite being red squirrels they also have a lot of grey colour in their coats! Red squirrels can vary in colour, some being a very dark mahogany and there are even albino red squirrels, which are pure white!
The red squirrel breeding programme was set up at Walton in 2006 with the help of funding from environmental charity WREN and the Waste-recycling group. At present it houses five adult squirrels.
Red squirrels were once common all over Britain, however since the grey squirrel was brought over from North America in 1876 red squirrel populations have declined dramatically.
Red squirrels are still present in Scotland and the northern Lake District, but even these populations are under threat with the grey squirrels slowly moving up the country.
Grey Squirrels can eat foods before they are ripe enough for the reds and they also carry the parapox virus, which is lethal to reds. Red squirrels can still be found in specially managed nature reserves around England and Wales.
A spokesman for the Children’s Zoo said: “We are part of a nation-wide breeding programme co-ordinated by the Welsh Mountain Zoo. When our squirrels are old enough to leave their parents, at three months old, they will be either sent to other breeding programmes in the country or be released at a specially cared for reserve such as Anglesey or Formby.”