Brothers spend summer caring for baby red squirrels

Deep in the woodland of Cumbria, a tiny red squirrel named Percy has just taken his first big leap back into the wild.

But this story didn't start in the trees. It began on the forest floor, where he was found alone and in need of help.

Luckily, Connor, a Conservation Ranger at a Center Parcs holiday resort in Penrith, knew just what to do.

"He'd been found at the bottom of a tree, I got the call and went and picked him up," Connor said.

Pheonix (left) and Morgan (right) say Percy the red squirrel has been nibbling on their books while they've been caring for him

Percy was only around four weeks old at the time when Connor brought the small squirrel back home to his family in Cockermouth - meaning brothers, six-year-old Phoenix and nine-year-old Morgan also had the opportunity to help care for him.

During the summer holidays the boys have spent time feeding Percy by hand and building obstacle courses throughout their house so he could learn to live in the trees.

"He kept on nibbling mine and Morgan's books," said Phoenix.

"He also chewed my wall," added Morgan, "We had to tell our landlord, ‘my wall has been eaten by a red squirrel’, don't ask why."

The family cared for Percy for eight weeks having to feed him every two to three hours

Luckily the boys had some squirrel experience, because just a few weeks earlier, the family had helped raise another red squirrel called Nibbles.

Nibbles was found by a guest at Center Parcs when he was only three weeks old, having fallen from a tree nest – called a drey. He was looked after until he was big enough to move into a special pen at the Whinfell Forest Center Parcs and from there, he too was released back into the wild.

It meant the family was already prepared to take in another baby squirrel, that needed feeding every two to three hours: "We already had everything there, all the milk, the carrots and the nuts for him," said Connor.

Now, eight weeks on from being rescued, Percy has followed in Nibbles' tiny paw-steps, returning to the forest to start his new life among the trees.

Morgan (left) says red squirrel conservation is really important: "we have to try our hardest to look after them”

Whinfell Forest is one of only 16 protected red squirrel refuges in the UK – safe places where red squirrels can live, eat, and play without too much danger.

Red squirrels, are native to the UK, and are an endangered species.

The UK Squirrel Accord reports that red squirrel numbers in the UK have dropped from around 3.5 million to approximately 287,000 today - with fewer than 40,000 in England. And the Mammal Society's Red List says the situation could be much worse.

The moment of release: Percy ventures out back into the wild

The experience has left Morgan wanting to protect red squirrels: "They're nearly extinct, we have to try our hardest to look after them."

Just before Percy was released, Phoenix said the moment felt "bittersweet" but that Percy's "back where he's supposed to be", with Morgan adding that he felt "blue but also excited" as Percy is "going on a whole new adventure."

"I'll always have a place in my heart [for Percy], and also my wall," added Morgan.