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How Did a Killer Squirrel and an Urban Fox Cross the Sea to Bute? Mystery As Animals Are Sighted on Isle for First Time

Posted on: Monday, 5 December 2005, 09:00 CST

By VICKY COLLINS ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT

A SMALL island is facing one of the most significant threats to wildlife in Scotland. Wouldbe conservationists are jeopardising the future of Bute's unique ecosystem.

Grey squirrels and foxes, which have never before lived on the island, have both been spotted there in recent months.

Wildlife officers at Strathclyde police are convinced the animals have been dumped on Bute deliberately by people who found them sick or injured in cities, cared for them, and then took them to the island in the mistaken belief that it would be a better environment for them. Instead of helping animals, however, the culprits are endangering them.

The grey squirrels are a particular threat. Although there are no red squirrels on Bute, conservationists fear greys could easily swim the short distance from the island to the nearby Cowal peninsula, the site of one of the last remaining red squirrel strongholds in Britain.

If they survive and breed, both grey squirrels and foxes could cause havoc among populations of indigenous animals and birds on Bute, including protected species such as hen harriers, peregrines, and brown hares.

Joe Connelly, wildlife crime co-ordinator at Strathclyde Police, said: "We think that - for whatever reason - these animals have been rescued, cared for, and that the people involved have then decided it would be good to release them in a picturesque place like Bute.

"What they probably don't realise is that they are breaking the law and, in the case of the foxes, endangering the lives of animals they believe they are saving."

Billy Shields, country ranger at Bute Estate and a special constable on the island, said the grey squirrels were probably still alive, but the foxes were now all thought to be dead. Two were shot by farmers and a third was found starved to death on the moors.

A post-mortem examination revealed that its stomach was full of plastic and other rubbish, suggesting that it had spent a considerable amount of time scavenging in a town or city.

Some conservationists privately believe it is possible an independently-run rescue centre may have been releasing the animals to prevent overcrowding. Police are now spot-checking cars coming off the ferry on to Bute in the hope of catching the culprits.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) has received regular reports in recent years of an unmarked white van releasing urban foxes into the countryside.

However, this is the first time mainland animals have been released on Bute and it is not known whether the reports are connected.

The arrival of non-native creatures on other islands - most notably hedgehogs on North and South Uist - have led to native species being virtually wiped out, and forced conservation groups to undertake controversial culls in an effort to restore the balance.

Mike Flynn, superintendent at the SSPCA, said whoever was responsible for the releases was completely misguided. "As soon as you introduce a species that has not been there in the past, then you put the indigenous species on the island in danger. This is not doing the animals any favours at all."

Mary Christie, national strategy officer at Scottish Natural Heritage, described releases of non-native species on Scotland's islands as "one of the most significant threats to wildlife in Scotland". She added: "Once non-natives have been released, they are very difficult to eradicate."

It is not only Bute's wildlife that is at risk. David Anderson, Forestry Commission conservation officer for Lochalsh and the Trossachs, said the grey squirrel releases could also endanger important red squirrel populations on the mainland.

The Cowal peninsula, which is just a five-minute boat journey from Bute, is currently free of greys and provides an important habitat for red squirrels.

If the greys were to establish themselves, however, that could change. "It would certainly be within swimming distance for a grey squirrel, " Mr Anderson said. "They have been known to swim from the east shore of Loch Lomond to the islands."

UNIQUE ISLE

Only 15 miles long and five miles wide, Bute has a population of around 7000 and is separated from the west coast of Scotland by a narrow strip of sea, the Kyles of Bute.

The island is geographically unique, as it sits on the Highland boundary fault, marked by Loch Fad, one of six lochs on the island. This creates a varied landscape of rolling hills and lowland plains. The Gulf Stream also helps allow the island to support a wide variety of wild flowers, as well as subtropical plants.

Bute has a wide variety of wildlife, including feral goats in the north, brown hares, and birds such as hen harriers, peregrines, and kestrels.

However, it is lacking some of the animals that inhabit the Scottish mainland. Foxes, grey squirrels, badgers, and pine martens are not indigenous to Bute.

Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

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