Homeless rare red squirrels placed in foster care
Three red squirrel kittens have been placed in foster care after the tree they were living in was accidentally chopped down by forestry workers, and the mother went missing. The red squirrel conservation officer from Alnwick, Northumberland has given the kittens to a local woman who has been feeding them every eight hours around the clock with syringes of milk. She has been caring for them for two weeks now and already they have quadrupled in size, and their trademark red fur has started to grow.
Red squirrels are a protected species with around 140,000 living in the UK, as opposed to 2.5 million greys. The main threat to their survival is from the non-native grey squirrels, squirrel pox virus and road traffic.
