Origins of British Black squirrel discovered

[Still Waters]

The black squirrels that are already dominant in some parts of the UK are descendants of a single rogue American black squirrel according to scientists.

It was thought that British black squirrels, that appear to be more aggressive than the greys, were a mutant produced by two grey squirrels mating.

However scientists looking at the growing population in the eastern counties have found that the black squirrels are in fact an introduced subgroup that escaped from a menagerie of exotic animals in the east of England more than 100 years ago.

The first wild black squirrel was spotted in 1912 outside Letchworth in Hertfordshire and has been spreading throughout the area since.

The latest estimates show there could be as many as 25,000 in the east of England. Around Hitchin and Letchworth the black squirrels already outnumber greys and could be dominant throughout the eastern counties in the next 20 years.

Dr Alison Thomas, a professor of life sciences of Anglia Ruskin University, conducted a number of genetic tests to work out the background of the new squirrel.

She found that the DNA was exactly the same as black squirrels found in the US.

It would be almost impossible for exactly the same genetic mutation to have happened in the UK, therefore the black squirrel is probably imported.

She said: "It had been argued that the black squirrel was the result of a genetic mutation caused by two grey squirrels mating and producing black offspring.

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[stevewinn]

The Poor Red has no chance with these foreigners. but do we cull the grey and Blacks?

[Still Waters]

The Poor Red has no chance with these foreigners. but do we cull the grey and Blacks?

The Red squirrels are lovely...I didn't even know we had Black squirrels in the UK until I found this article

[Michelle]

The Poor Red has no chance with these foreigners. but do we cull the grey and Blacks?

Eat more squirrel...

I've never seen a black one in person.

[Cloudshill]

Ihave black squirrels here. I hadn't seen any for years untill october. But now they are back.........