WITH their distinctive russet fur, tufted ears and twitching tail, a Red Squirrel is a captivating sight in the woodland of the UK, yet their numbers are continuing to decline and as Red Squirrel Week draws to close a Yorkshire Dales wildlife park is set to offer visitors a chance to see this enigmatic creature up close.

Kilnsey Park opens its doors for Red Squirrel Weekend
Photo: Kilnsey Park

Kilnsey Park is highlighting the plight of the red squirrel by opening its doors free of charge for a Red Squirrel Weekend over 7th and 8th October.

Kilnsey Park is one of a number of sites in the Yorkshire Dales where there has been a Red Squirrel conservation project operating for the past 10 years; other sites are centred mainly in the northern Dales around Hawes.

With a total population of only 160,000 left in the UK, Red Squirrels continue to be in serious danger. Their decline is due to a number of factors including disease, the loss and fragmentation of woodland habitat and competition from the more robust grey squirrel. The reds are usually displaced within 15 years of the arrival of greys.

The plight of the Red Squirrel is now recognised in local, regional, national and international conservation policies - it is featured in the Bern Convention, it is a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and the Red Squirrel is afforded the highest level of protection under UK law through the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Organisers of the Kilnsey Park event are promising an action packed weekend with activities for children and Red Squirrel talks by Vanessa Roberts who owns the Park.

I would like visitors to understand that the red squirrel is indigenous to this country but if we don't work actively to preserve them, they will be extinct for ever

Vanessa Roberts - Kilnsey Park

"I feel very passionately about protecting red squirrels and I hope that by having this special weekend we can raise awareness of the huge difficulties facing them," commented Mrs Roberts.

"I would like visitors to understand that the red squirrel is indigenous to this country but if we don't work actively to preserve them, they will be extinct for ever.

"At Kilnsey Park our red squirrels are captive which means that they are safe from the grey squirrels. They have bred very well this year and so we have been able to send 7 red squirrels to red squirrel conservation programmes on Anglesey and in the south of England."

The weekend of the 7th and 8th October is sponsored by Yorkshire-based design and communications company Red Squirrel Media and taking place over the weekend include: children's arts and crafts activities; red squirrel talks with Vanessa Roberts; story telling; a Nutty Squirrel Treasure Hunt along the Kilnsey Trail and meeting Rufus, the park's giant red squirrel.

• Whilst admission is free, Kilnsey Park welcomes donations towards the £80 per week cost of feeding their red squirrels.

• For more information see the Kilnsey Park website at www.kilnseypark.co.uk or call 01756 752150.

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