UK
History
UK Squirrel Situation
Most of England and Wales are now only populated by the Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis). This invasive species was brought over from North America in the late 19th century, was unfortunately a carrier for the parapox virus. Although that did and still does kill Red squirrels, they had already been mostly eradicated at that point due to almost total deforestation. The Grey squirrel also requires trees, but is much more forgiving of poor habitat, often happy to live in cities eating whatever it can find.
Despite being millions of years old, squirrels could not have existed in most of the UK during the ice-age's tree-less tundra (500,000 - 10,000 BC). As the ice sheet receded and trees began to return to the area, squirrels would have come across Doggerland (from what's now mainland Europe), before it was submerged under the North Sea. Around 3000 BC would probably have seen the UK's greatest coverage of trees (60-80%) which would have supported millions of red squirrels.
Unfortunately, since 3000 BC the UK's forests have been in decline. Human's use of wood (infrastructure, tools, fires, weapons) and agriculture ramped up. Gradually at first, but by the 19th century the country was almost completely void of trees. It has since recovered to around 10% coverage (still one of the lowest in Europe), but this is mostly monoculture. The amount of healthy, original woodland is thought to be less than 1% (according to the Woodland Trust). Squirrels thrive in contiguous forest, and so highly fragmented clusters of poor quality trees don't foster a healthy environment for arboreal animals. If they run out of food they're forced to cross vast swaths of open ground, roads or settlements where their chances of survival quickly diminish. With squirrels gone, the forest's health further reduces, creating a cycle of decline, or even eventual collapse.
Squirrels were originally hunted for their pelts, meat and fur, but with their habitat nearly destroyed they were then hunted nearly to extinction by landowners, who ironically claim that they damage trees. Disease carrying Eastern Grey squirrels brought into the country get the bulk of the blame for the red squirrel's decline, but this ignores much of the human inflicted history. Now this excuse is used to viciously slaughter another innocent animal while claiming moral high ground.
Decades ago, tens of thousands of Red squirrels have been reintroduced into the UK from Scandinavia (to attempt to bolster the numbers). Unfortunately this means that many of the remaining red squirrels in the UK are a different subspecies (Sciurus Vulgaris Vulgaris, rather than Sciurus Vulgaris Leucourus). The native UK red squirrel has a slightly smaller skull and a very blonde tail during the spring moult.
Grey squirrels are now an unfortunate reality in the UK, but it's important to remember not to blame innocent animals for the situation. Try not to see them as somehow responsible for the Red squirrel's destruction. That was all human's fault. Grey squirrels are also very sweet creatures. They can be more friendly and thus more photogenic. If you like squirrels and that's all you have, I encourage you to go out and photograph them. I befriended the ones when I was living in Leamington Spa (above) and London.
If you really want to see Red squirrels, and you are living in England, you still have a few options. Brownsea Island (below) and the Isle of Wight in the south have them. Some other small pockets have been reintroduced too. In the north, the Lake District is a good spot, and anywhere further north into Scotland.
