Why conservationists are really seeing RED (Squirrels, that is)

Despite their place in the nation's heart, and thanks in part to the spread of their grey cousins, just 5% of us have seen one of the elusive creatures. SAMANTHA WOSTEAR visits a sanctuary aiming to change that... and gets lucky!

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NESTLED in a wooden squirrel hide in Plas Newydd House and Garden, National Trust in Anglesey, the sound of the heavy wind is muffled by the dense rows of red Scots pine trees that surround it, their rib-boned bark the only clue to the presence of a reclusive resident one you might never lay eyes on your entire life, even though it has been a vibrant member of our wildlife for more than 10,000 years.

Disease and disappearing habitat have paved the way for a glitch on this fertile landscape, a glitch that has become a gaping hole for most of the UK where the iconic species has all but disappeared with less than 5% of the population ever having seen one.

But it's not a big cat or wild boar that we are hoping for a glimpse of on this bracing morning in north Wales... but the humble red squirrel. Such is the national pride in our auburn-hued rodent that the discovery of a new settlement on a tree plantation in the Yorkshire Dales made national headlines in January.

The triumphant appearance of a red squirrel colony prompted the community to leap into action and declare their dedication to nurturing the rare guest.

Following the sightings, the Yorkshire Dales Red Squirrel Alliance was quickly set up by volunteers, funded by the Forestry Commission and the "delighted" plantation owners have given their permission for a full survey of the land to be undertaken in the hope the population will increase and bolster the dwindling population in England.

There are thought to be fewer than 40,000 red squirrels and, nationally, 160,000 with 120,000 alone in Scotland. All of which makes sightings extremely rare.

This small mammal has an average lifespan of three years, breeds a litter of two to three young (known as kits) twice a year, of which 75-85% will perish in their first winter with survivors facing the constant mortal threat of squirrel pox.