amyasleigh
Abominable Snowman
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 813
Doing a bit of “bumping” of this thread, in view of recent visit to a (sort-of) "hotspot".
I, a British citizen and resident, have loved these islands' red squirrel lifelong, but been in the presence of same, on rather few occasions – having always lived in relatively southerly reaches of the island of Great Britain, pretty much monopolised by the invading American grey squirrel.
Have in the last couple of years, spent a few holidays on the Isle of Wight (just back from one such) – as mentioned in this thread, the last significant stronghold in southern England, of the red squirrel (the intervening 2 / 3 miles-wide strait, with no bridge or tunnel, having so far kept the “greys” out). Have fleetingly sighted members of the red variety on two of these recent I.O.W. holidays; but, my word, they tend not to be easy to encounter. Not because of drastic smallness of numbers: on the island, which measures about 25 by 15 miles, there are estimated to be some 3,000 red squirrels – mostly in the more-wooded northern half of the island.
They are, basically, shy and retiring creatures – their grey American cousins / rivals tend to be much bolder. Unless one is a skilled and dedicated naturalist, squirrel encounters on the island seem to be very much a matter of luck. There are reputedly, particularly good places for seeing them. One such is Parkhurst Forest, the island’s biggest single area of woodland, where there has been set up a “hide”, as for bird-watchers, but in this case, for observing squirrels (my brief sightings, as above, have been from this structure). There is also a small park in one of the island’s resort towns, where squirrels are reputedly semi-tame and will sometimes approach visitors in the hope of handouts; but I have had no luck there. Residents on the island, with whom I have spoken, have seen squirrels on quite numerous occasions; but they have the advantage of being there all the time...
I see a certain appropriateness in this subject being featured on the “Cryptozoology” forum: conclusion reached, that going in search of Isle of Wight red squirrels is likely to be a frustrating and unrewarding business, and the optimum approach is to stop trying, and leave it to rather rare chance – a parallel with North America’s best-known cryptid, some enthusiasts for which phenomenon are wont to say, “You don’t find Bigfoot; Bigfoot finds you.”
I, a British citizen and resident, have loved these islands' red squirrel lifelong, but been in the presence of same, on rather few occasions – having always lived in relatively southerly reaches of the island of Great Britain, pretty much monopolised by the invading American grey squirrel.
Have in the last couple of years, spent a few holidays on the Isle of Wight (just back from one such) – as mentioned in this thread, the last significant stronghold in southern England, of the red squirrel (the intervening 2 / 3 miles-wide strait, with no bridge or tunnel, having so far kept the “greys” out). Have fleetingly sighted members of the red variety on two of these recent I.O.W. holidays; but, my word, they tend not to be easy to encounter. Not because of drastic smallness of numbers: on the island, which measures about 25 by 15 miles, there are estimated to be some 3,000 red squirrels – mostly in the more-wooded northern half of the island.
They are, basically, shy and retiring creatures – their grey American cousins / rivals tend to be much bolder. Unless one is a skilled and dedicated naturalist, squirrel encounters on the island seem to be very much a matter of luck. There are reputedly, particularly good places for seeing them. One such is Parkhurst Forest, the island’s biggest single area of woodland, where there has been set up a “hide”, as for bird-watchers, but in this case, for observing squirrels (my brief sightings, as above, have been from this structure). There is also a small park in one of the island’s resort towns, where squirrels are reputedly semi-tame and will sometimes approach visitors in the hope of handouts; but I have had no luck there. Residents on the island, with whom I have spoken, have seen squirrels on quite numerous occasions; but they have the advantage of being there all the time...
I see a certain appropriateness in this subject being featured on the “Cryptozoology” forum: conclusion reached, that going in search of Isle of Wight red squirrels is likely to be a frustrating and unrewarding business, and the optimum approach is to stop trying, and leave it to rather rare chance – a parallel with North America’s best-known cryptid, some enthusiasts for which phenomenon are wont to say, “You don’t find Bigfoot; Bigfoot finds you.”