The squirrel on which author Beatrix Potter based her Squirrel Nutkin a century ago is facing extinction in its home in the English Lake District, scientists studying the red squirrel said on Wednesday.
Peter Lurz of Newcastle University said fewer than 1 000 of the rare Cumbrian red still survive and this variant of the species could die out within 20 years.
DNA tests have found the Cumbrian red, which has its home in the Lake District in northwestern England, is unique, differing from any other in Britain or in continental Europe.
The biologist said his research shows the Cumbrian squirrel to be ”very special” and he called for a captive breeding programme to save the variant.
The red squirrel has been pushed out of almost all of England and much of Scotland by the American grey, which was introduced in the 19th century. Special conservation measures are in place to save the species, but they have had limited success.
The grey out-competes for food and can pass on a deadly pox virus, according to Lurz.
”We are not saying the Cumbrian squirrels are more important but we believe it is crucial to try to conserve them,” Lurz said.
Potter’s book, first published in 1903, and based on her observations in the scenic Lake District, begins: ”This is a tale about a tail — a tail that belonged to a little red squirrel, and his name was Nutkin. He had a brother called Twinkleberry, and a great many cousins: they lived in a wood at the edge of a lake.” — Sapa-DPA