Red Squirrel Kittens

It is that time of year again, and so far we have seen one litter of red squirrel kittens out in our breeding pens... and signs of another couple of litters out there too!

In our walkthrough enclosure there seems to be signs of nest building which could mean litter or two on the way. One female in there in particular is being quite a nuisance and has found a good source of nesting material in one of our double doors. Over the weekend she managed to slip past a few people to gather up some wood peelings from the timber frame. Luckily we were able to guide her back in safely, but keep your eyes open if you head in there and try not to let her through. Easier said than done I know.

We have also had news from some of our holders that hey have litters of kittens too. So it seems like this is going to be another good year for red squirrel breeding.

This year we are taken a slight step back from a big release. Tresco is still going very well, and we have more plans for the long term future, but we need to create more pairs to ensure that our squirrels do continue to breed in future years.

As well as this we have interest in a couple of more places to join our breeding group, one in particular is very exciting and you will here more about that over the summer. And we have been asked to help with 3 more potential release projects across the country. Still very early days on these, and will probably not see any direct action until next year at the earliest, but one may be ready for a small scale pilot release this autumn. Again more information on this as the time draws nearer.

Just to say again, the kittens we currently have are in our off-display breeding pens so can not be seen if you come to visit. I will let you know as soon as we have any out and about in our display walk-through enclosure.