Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2009 | Page 69

COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING After treatment three young squirrels were who would like to make their walks more successfully released. Helen also had a busy interesting. The workshop will cover how and time carrying out post mortem examinations. where to see squirrels, how to look for dreys Of the 13 post mortem examinations carried and how to identify squirrel food leavings. out in June and early July, one squirrel had Helen says ‘Red squirrel numbers have been been hit by a car and the other 12 had died rising steadily since I started in 1991 and it’s from natural causes. natural that numbers will level off or drop Seven of these were juveniles but as squirrels’ surviving to reach after such a long time. I am grateful to all their first birthday is only around 1 in 6, it’s not the people who rang in – please keep the calls really that surprising there were so many. coming.’ Monitoring is a very important aspect of red life Contact: Helen Butler squirrel work and during ‘Red Squirrel Week’ Tel: [phone] Mobile: [phone] (the first week in October) Wight Squirrel Email: [email protected] Project will be running a workshop for people 69