A MAN has been told to stop feeding endangered red squirrels in a bid to prevent the local population growing too large for the area.
John Cook, of Westhill, has been feeding the threatened species at Carnie Woods in Aberdeenshire almost every day for 16 years.
The concerned conservationist believes the amount of building work and tree felling in the area has had a dramatic impact on wildlife.
But Mr Cook has now been advised by the Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (SSRS) project to cut down on feeding the furry creatures to stop the squirrel population increasing.
The businessman, a member of the Friends of Carnie Woods group, said: "The guy said if you stop feeding them they will distribute, but there is nowhere for them to go. He said stop supplementing them with feed and numbers will drop.
"If they dispersed, they would have to cross roads, go through houses and industrial estates and there is nowhere else for them to live. They would starve to death or get run down by cars. As it is, I am keeping them going.
"They need to think about relocating them because if you stop feeding them they will die."
The small woodland on the outskirts of Westhill is home to approximately 30 squirrels which are fed a mixture of seeds by a small group of volunteers who are helping to keep them alive.
The area has become isolated by large industrial office units and housing developments built around the trees and because there are no longer any natural corridors for the squirrels to use to move to other woods, Mr Cook believes it would be best for conservation groups to relocate the animals.
The SSRS, a partnership between five other conservation groups, including the Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland, was set up to save the endangered species in 2009.
Their aim is to halt the spread of grey squirrels and improve woodland management.
Fewer than 120,000 red squirrels remain in Scotland and it is feared the creatures could eventually be wiped out if efforts are not made to save them.
SSRS project manager for the north-east, Stephen Willis, said it would be better for the squirrels in the long run if their food supply in Carnie Woods was cut off and they were encouraged to disperse.
He said: "It is a very dense population of squirrels in a very small area of habitat, which can lead to competition for resources.
"I had a very long conversation with Mr Cook about this. We discussed the issues of translocation, but my only possible suggestion for this situation was that if the supplementary feeding was reduced, the squirrels would naturally disperse.
"It's good that local people responsibly feed the squirrel population, but I do have a feeling that the supplementary feeding is what is keeping the population artificially high in the woodland."
The red squirrel is the UK's only native squirrel and numbers have declined rapidly since the introduction of grey squirrels from North America in the 19th Century.
Since 1952, 95 per cent of red squirrels in England and Wales have been wiped out, and today 75 per cent of the UK's remaining population is found in Scotland.
However, greys still threaten the existence of the native reds because they compete for food and habitat, and transmit the deadly squirrelpox virus.
Earlier this week RSPB Scotland announced it was joining forces with SSRS in the fight to save the country's red squirrel population.
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