Baby red squirrels born at Co Down army base

As part of a programme with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Belfast Zoo, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum (NISF) to increase the population of the native species across forests in Northern Ireland, the Downpatrick site was selected as a breeding site for reds in 2015 as there are no grey squirrels or pine martens there.

This enables the red squirrels to safely acclimatise to the outside world and develop survival skills before widening their horizons into other forests across Northern Ireland.

Staff at the DIO set up a nursery area, feeding and water stations, nesting boxes and cameras to monitor the squirrels.

The squirrel kittens were initially placed in a soft release pen with a safe access to allow them to acclimatise to their new environment. They were then released into managed wild habitats within the site’s training grounds after a week to allow them to take their first steps into the outside world and adjust to life in the wild in a safe and secure environment.

Tony Canniford, DIO’s senior training safety officer for Ballykinler Training Centre said: “It’s great to see the first set of new-born baby squirrels venturing out into the wild into managed wild habitats within the site’s training grounds. Ballykinler is a diverse site offering the ideal location and environment for red squirrels to breed and adapt to the outside world.”

Alyn Cairns, zoo manager from Belfast Zoo added: “This is a successful step forward in ensuring the conservation of this iconic native species and we hope the population will continue to grow in future.”