Kilnsey Park red squirrels 

Kilnsey Park is home to almost 20 red squirrels which live very safely in 2 large enclosures.   Their enclosures have been designed to allow them to have as much natural behaviour as possible,  The enclosures are particularly high with bushes, trees and extra logs and ropes for climbing.  The enclosures are divided into sections off to enable family groups to operate and these groups are managed very carefully.

During 2009 we were very fortunate to have 3 litters of baby squirrels which gave us 10 kittens!  You can the latest news about of red squirrels by checking the news updates.

Kilnsey Park has been home to captive red squirrels since 1998 when Mrs Roberts first set up the Kilnsey Park red squirrel conservation programme.   Red Squirrels once lived in the wild all over the UK. However since the introduction of the grey squirrel in 1876 there has been a catastrophic decline in the numbers of red squirrels. There are still small pockets of red squirrels living wild in Scotland, the Lake District, Wales and the Isle of Wight and Anglesey. Mrs Roberts has always been interested in red squirrels and was becoming increasingly alarmed by their decline. In 1998 she managed to obtain a pair of red squirrels and happily they bred straight away.

The Kilnsey Park red squirrels became part of the Red Squirrel Captive Breeding Plan which ensures that the gene pool of Red Squirrels is as large as possible, hopefully ensuring that they will never become extinct. We have close contact with various organisations with interest in protecting red squirrels and each year we donate some of our young red squirrels to other groups.  Luckily we are sometimes donated red squirrels by other groups which means that we are extending our own gene pool within Kilnsey Park.

We are sometimes asked whether the Kilnsey Park squirrels are happy to live in their enclosures. To answer that, they have all been bred in captivity and are completely used to life in their enclosures. We can tell by their movements and activities that they are happy, and the fact that they are breeding well confirms that they are very contented. Ultimately we would like to be able to release the red squirrels into the area around Kilnsey Park. However this can only happen when we are sure that the area is clear of grey squirrels as they pose too great a threat to the reds.

KEEP UP TO DATE

To follow the lives of our red squirrels please don't forget to join our Kilnsey Kids Club or become a Friend of Kilnsey Park.

You can also follow their progress through the News Section of this website, where we post regular bulletins. Special newsletters are sent out during the year to those people who have adopted a Kilnsey Park red squirrel.

ADOPT A SQUIRREL

Please support us and help us to look after the red squirrels. You can do this by adopting a red squirrel which costs just £10 for a full year. For this you will receive a special adoption certificate and your name will go onto the Adoption List in our main notice boards. You will also receive updates on the squirrels' progress during the year. It makes the ideal birthday, Christmas or anniversary gift!

Download a Squirrel Adoption Form here and send it to Kilnsey Park, Kilnsey near Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 5PS or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details.

Red squirrel facts

They store nuts in the ground in the Autumn

They do not hibernate over Winter

They can swim

They eat seeds, buds, flowers, shoots, fruits of many trees and shrubs, fungi, insects & occasional bird eggs

They are left or right handed when eating pine cones

They moult whole coat twice a year. They moult ear tufts and tail once in late Summer

They can hang upside down with their four fingers and five toes and can live up to 6 years.

Their young are called kittens and are born blind, pink, hairless and toothless.

They can have two litters a year (March and June) with 3-4 kittens in each litter.

They weigh 275- 300gms and their body length is 20-22cms, tail 17-18cms