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Message: <blockquote data-quote="locustella" data-source="post: 3164553" data-attributes="member: 26257">What a cute ginger red squirrel. If ginger is correct word for this color. October 20th I saw a squirrel collecting small branches betwen boughs of very high willow. Maybe it was building nest before winter (?).The point of those question was that British red squirrel in fact is hugely introduced too. Because people like pets. But on the other hand - continental European squirrels can migrate without barriers and can crossbreed. German with Austrian, eastern with western, southern with northern. Only deep Scandinavia is partially isolated. And islands, like that Danish Funen Island between Kattegat and Baltic Sea only with black red squirrels.In the past eradicated wolf, beaver or lynx populations could be reconstituted from eastern populations. Eastern animals were replacing them. Some people suspect that. That could be called "selfreintroduction".Black red squirrel in Funen in Danemark:<a href="https://jenlynch.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/funens-black-squirrel/" target="_blank">https://jenlynch.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/funens-black-squirrel/</a>(just found)The MC1R protein is responsible associated with coat color changes in mammals and birds:<a href="http://www.dn.dk/Admin/Public/Download.aspx?file=Files%2FFiler%2FNatur%2FDyr%2FEgern%2Fspeciale_om_sorte_egern.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.dn.dk/Admin/Public/Download.aspx?file=Files/Filer/Natur/Dyr/Egern/speciale_om_sorte_egern.pdf</a>including squirrelsThey write also, that British red squirrels are a mixed stock of mainland European races.Eastern British squirrels are 68 % H1 (Swedish haplotype). Most of others have European origin too.</blockquote>

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