Why are there more grey squirrels than red?
The red squirrel has declined in numbers by 75% over the past thirty years. In the Thetford Forest, the Forestry Commission are monitoring their numbers. Janie Steele explains how the grey squirrel competes with the red squirrel for food supplies and how it has brought with it the deadly parapox virus. Janie uses a number of techniques to monitor the squirrel population. Bait encourages squirrels to enter through a pipe where sticky tape picks up hairs, which indicate the species. A more sophisticated technique is to trap squirrels and attach a radio collar. Janie can then track these animals using an antenna. 8.32-End What about the future? Across the world, 11,000 species of plants and animals are facing a high risk of extinction. The most common reason for this is the destruction of habitats. How can we prevent more species from becoming extinct in future?
