January 2019:
This week we unfortunately had a deceased adult female Red Squirrel brought into us from St Mary (La Rue des Buttes – Near the Rectory). On examination she was very healthy and it was clear she had been involved in a Road Traffic Collision due to her injuries.
Sadly it looked like she had died whilst trying to cross the road carrying nesting material in her mouth. We are unsure if she was expecting or if she was just keeping her nest nice and warm and preparing for the breeding season. Whilst removing the nesting material from her mouth we noticed it had packaging like plastic throughout. This really shows that we need to be mindful of how we dispose and use plastic as it is now being used for building nests by our small colony of red squirrels. The use of plastic material in nests of small mammals and birds could be detrimental to their, and their young’s, health. Jersey is lucky to have a colony of Red Squirrels so we need to be doing everything we can to help and protect them.
What we can do to help:
- Be mindful of how you dispose of your plastic.
- Use the recycling centres provided around the Island.
- Use less plastic where possible.
- Keep within the speed limit when driving through Jersey’s green lanes.
- Be vigilant for wildlife on the roads.
- If you come across an injured or deceased squirrel please bring them down to JSPCA or call us on 724331.
A JSPCA sponsored study has shown that some roads in Jersey have been termed ‘black spots’, on which particularly high numbers of casualty squirrels were found. From this study apparent ‘black spots’ for red squirrel deaths on Jersey roads are (in no particular order):
- Trinity Hill and la Route de la Trinite
- St Saviours Hill
- La Vallee de Vaux
- Top of Bellozanne Valley
- Les Charrieres de Malorey, St Lawrence
- Le Chemin des Moulin (Waterworks Valley), St Lawrence
- Les Chenoles, St John
- Les Chanolles de Six Rues, St Lawrence
- La Rue de Pont Marquet (near the Lavender Farm), St Brelade
- St Peters Valley
- La Route de St Aubin at West Park
- La Route de St Aubin at Coronation Park
- Westmount Road at Westmount Park
- La Rue es Picots, Trinity
- La Route Orange, St Brelade, (west end)
- La Rue de Catieaux, Trinity
- La Route des Genets, St Brelade
- La Route de la Hougue Bie, St Saviour
