Sanctuary to help reintroduce red squirrels to wild

Red squirrels are native to the UK and have lived in the country for about 10,000 years

An animal sanctuary is hoping to help reintroduce red squirrels to the wild through a breeding programme.

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary in Stonham Aspal, near Stowmarket, has recently built an enclosure for three female red squirrels.

Emily Quantrill, deputy manager for the site, explained the sanctuary was in the process of building two more enclosures to house more of the species.

They now hope to receive a breeding pair whose offspring could eventually be released into the wild.

"What we would hope to do in the future is actually be a part of a breed and release programme as red squirrels are threatened in the UK thanks to the grey squirrel," Ms Quantrill explained.

"By having these three females, they are going to act as ambassadors for their species.

"They are not eligible to be part of that breed and release project but they can still educate the public on their species and what we can do to save them."

Stonham Owl Sanctuary's Emily Quantrill said the site would be ready as soon as a breeding pair were available

Red squirrels are native to the UK but it was not until the 19th Century that grey squirrels came over from America.

The larger, heavier and hungrier grey squirrel is a threat to the red species because it will usually win the fight for food.

The grey squirrel also carries the squirrelpox virus, which is fatal to its red cousin.

Ms Quantrill explained it was believed there were about 140,000 red squirrels in the UK compared to two million grey squirrels.

Deforestation is another large threat to the red squirrel population.

Two more enclosures for red squirrels are in the process of being built

Ms Quantrill said there was a huge amount of work that would go into the breed and release programme.

"There's far more to it than just acquiring two red squirrels and hoping they work out," she said.

"There's lots of different elements to it - we have to do gene pool tests which is the reason these three are not currently suitable at the moment.

"We don't want to just release any random red squirrel into the wild, we want to release the best possible gene pool so that they'll thrive and do really well in the wild."

The three red squirrels already at the site enjoy sleeping throughout the day

The sanctuary is fundraising to help pay for the new red squirrel enclosures and is using Red Squirrel Awareness Month this October to campaign for the species.

Ms Quantrill said the sanctuary had gone "above and beyond" to provide as much space for the squirrels.

The funds raised also go towards the furniture inside the enclosures.

The three female red squirrels already at the site took "a little while" to settle in, but were now comfortable in their enclosure and getting braver by the day.

They typically can be seen early in the morning and later in the day when the site is quieter.