‘On a knife edge’: can England’s red squirrel population be saved?

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www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/06/eng…

When Sam Beaumont sees a flash of red up a tree on his Lake District farm, he feels a swell of pride. He’s one of the few people in England who gets to see red squirrels in his back garden.

“I feel very lucky to have them on the farm. It’s an important thing to try and keep a healthy population of them. They are absolutely beautiful,” he said.

Most of us are much more familiar with their sturdy, grey American cousins. But once there were 3.4 million red squirrels in the UK, and with their glossy auburn fur, delicate frames and big tufty ears, they are the endangered animal whose loss Britons perhaps feel most deeply.

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In Norway we only have the red ones. Shy small things that run to climb up a tree when you approach. You’re lucky to see one.

I saw the grey ones first time when I visited Oxford. Students were sitting in the grass, and a hundred squirrels just ran around in-between them. Very different creatures indeed.

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I sometimes forget that there are different squirrels apart from the red ones lol

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Saw a red squirrel on Isle of Wight. Was lucky not to hit the blighter when it ran across the road in front of us. Hopefully the little fellas thrive with this initiative.

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