Reddish Vale Country Park

Native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada, the grey squirrel was intoduced to Britain at the begining of the 20th century,




Gray squirrels build a type of nest, known as a drey, in the forks of trees. The drey consists mainly of dry leaves and twigs. Squirrels may also nest in the loft or exterior walls of a house. In addition, the squirrel may inhabit a permanent tree den.




Predators include humans, hawks, cats, owls and dogs. Whilst gray squirrels fight among themselves over food sources, they have been known to mob potential predators such as domestic cats. They also have a complex, tag-team defensive system involving distracting would-be predators with vigorous shaking of their tails.




In the United Kingdom, the gray squirrel has few natural predators. This has aided its rapid population growth and has led to the species being classed as a pest. Measures are being devised to reduce its numbers, including one plan for celebrity television chefs to promote the idea of eating the squirrels. In areas where relict populations of red squirrel survive, such as Anglesey and Brownsea, programs seeking to eradicate pest squirrels are in progress in an effort to allow red squirrel populations to recover.


Although complex and controversial, the main factor in the gray squirrel's displacement of the red squirrel is thought to be its greater fitness and, hence, a competitive advantage over the red squirrel on all measures. The gray squirrel tends to be larger and stronger than the red squirrel and has been shown to have a greater ability to store fat for winter. The squirrel can therefore compete more effectively for a larger share of the available food, resulting in relatively lower survival and breeding rates among the red squirrel. Parapox virus may also be a strongly contributing factor; red squirrels are fatally affected by the disease, while the gray squirrels are unaffected but thought to be carriers. The red squirrel is also less tolerant of habitat destruction and fragmentation which has led to its population decline, while the more adaptable grey squirrel has taken advantage and expanded.











Grey Squirrel

All images, copyright, Stockport Nature.Com

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Grey Squirrel