{"id":23402,"date":"2023-01-11T10:14:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T09:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=23402"},"modified":"2023-01-12T10:20:29","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T09:20:29","slug":"catch-me-if-you-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2023\/01\/11\/catch-me-if-you-can\/","title":{"rendered":"Catch me if you can"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Watch male grey squirrels chase females up trees <\/p>\n\n

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The controversial rodents start breeding early<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Nature\u2019s Great Invaders <\/em>features the grey squirrel <\/p>\n\n

\n\n

GREY SQUIRRELS: DO YOU LOVE THEM OR loathe them? In 2021, a Royal Forestry Society study worked out that these alien acrobats from North America cost an eye-watering \u00a337 million every year in England and Wales alone, in terms of the cost of controlling them and the damage they do to timber, together with the associated loss of carbon storage the lost trees would have provided. That\u2019s before one considers their impact on our native red squirrels. And yet. Grey squirrels probably bring more joy to more people than any other wild mammal in Britain. <\/p>\n\n

In January and February, you\u2019ll often hear what appear to be squirrels sneezing. These nasal, \u2018muk muk\u2019 calls are a feature of the grey squirrel breeding season, as are furious chases up, down and around trees as males attempt to catch females. Some females will already have young by the month end, the first of two litters. <\/p>\n\n

BH <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

PHOTO: SQUIRREL: DAVID CHAPMAN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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