WELCOME to North Yorkshire! That's the warm message to our newest neighbours - rare red squirrels which have moved into their new home near York.
Under a new project, a small breeding group of native red squirrels have moved into the Yorkshire Arboretum near Castle Howard.
And since the beginning of April, the public have been able to meet these remarkable creatures.
Our incredible photos today are from members of The Press Camera Club: thanks to Marion Hayhurst, Allan Harris and Nick Fletcher for sharing their images on our Facebook page.
The red squirrel project is supported by The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund and offers an opportunity to learn more about this increasingly rare native mammal.
The project aims to boost red squirrel numbers in Britain by providing space for a new breeding colony, whose offspring may be used for reintroduction projects.
The red squirrel is the UK's only native squirrel species. They were once a common site with an estimated 3.5 million roaming the British countryside.
However, their numbers have been in decline since the introduction of grey squirrels as an ornamental species in the 1870s.
Grey squirrels carry a disease, a Parapoxvirus, which does not appear to affect their health but often kills red squirrels.
According to The Woodland Trust, the red squirrel population in England is thought to be as low as 15,000.
The three squirrels in the group at the Yorkshire Arboretum have come from participants in the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) Red Squirrel Studbook network, which aims to ensure a genetically diverse population in captivity.
At the Yorkshire Arboretum the red squirrels are housed safely in an open-topped enclosure designed and built entirely by Yorkshire Arboretum staff and volunteers.
With a perimeter of steel panels with a non-grip coating and a three-metre no-leap zone all around, it is designed to keep red squirrels in and grey squirrels out.
The fence circles 2,500 square meters of ground, including a grove of oaks and other trees, in which the squirrels can live naturally.
To visit the Red Squirrel enclosure, book at yorkshirearboretum.org/red-squirrels
Join our Camera Club
WOULD you like to see your photographs in The Press and online?
More than 2,500 readers have joined The Press Camera Club, which launched in June 2017 and brings together talented photographers from across York and North and East Yorkshire to share their work, swap tips and take part in themed monthly prize competitions.
To join the free club, simply search for ‘The Press Camera Club’ on Facebook - we’d love to see what our region looks like through your lens.
We will feature pictures from our camera club in The Press and online regularly.
If you like seeing photos of York, please follow us on Instagram too @york.press.
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