Northern Ireland

Baby red squirrels born on the site of Co Down army base

Belfast Zoo has been breeding red squirrels since 2012 and have to date released 30 reds into the wild
Belfast Zoo has been breeding red squirrels since 2012 and have to date released 30 reds into the wild Belfast Zoo has been breeding red squirrels since 2012 and have to date released 30 reds into the wild

BABY red squirrels have been born on the site of a Co Down army base to help increase the population of the native species across forests in Northern Ireland.

The animals were welcomed onto the Ballykinler Training Area as part of a programme run by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Belfast Zoo, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum.

In April 2015, DIO was asked to help support the re-introduction of red squirrels through a special breeding programme and Ballykinler was used as there are no grey squirrels or pine martens on site.

This allowed the red squirrels to safely acclimatise to the outside world and develop survival skills before widening their horizons into other forests.

Staff at DIO set up a nursery area, feeding and water stations, nesting boxes and cameras to monitor the squirrels.

The animals spend a year getting accustomed to the environment, before being re-captured and released into the woodlands of Northern Ireland, where it is hoped they will thrive with further successful breeding and build up a robust red squirrel population.

Tony Canniford, DIO’s senior training safety officer at Ballykinler, said: "DIO plays a vital role in protecting and increasing the population of red squirrels in Northern Ireland and it’s great to see the first set of new-born baby squirrels venturing out into the wild into managed wild habitats within the site’s training grounds.

"Ballykinler is a diverse site offering the ideal location and environment for red squirrels to breed and adapt to the outside world."

Belfast Zoo manager Alyn Cairns said: "This is a successful step forward in ensuring the conservation of this iconic native species and we hope the population will continue to grow in future.

"Belfast Zoo has worked with DIO and a range of partners in the NI Squirrel Forum since 2015 and to date we have released 30 red squirrels into the wild."