Red Squirrels on the Isle of Wight
The Red Squirrel has now become extinct in most of southern Britain. Two well known population outposts remain – those of Brownsea Island in Dorset and the Isle of Wight. It is no coincidence that these are island populations. Since the introduction of the Grey Squirrel into the wild in 1876, the Red Squirrel has undergone a dramatic decline and, with the exception of the two colonies listed above, it is now largely restricted to remote colonies in northern England and Scotla