Only one grey squirrel has been caught in Aberdeen so far in 2025, and red squirrel sightings are on the up!

Conservation efforts are proving effective in Aberdeen City and the surrounding area, with numbers of grey squirrels falling significantly in recent years. Only one grey squirrel was caught in the first six months of 2025, and just a handful of other grey sightings have been reported.

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS), a partnership project led by Scottish Wildlife Trust, has been working in Aberdeen since 2009 to remove the isolated, or ‘island’ population of grey squirrels from the North East.

Grey squirrels first arrived in Aberdeen in 1971 and pose a threat to the native red squirrels as they are larger, more robust and less picky about food, so they outcompete reds. Some grey squirrels also carry a virus called squirrelpox, which doesn’t affect them but is fatal to red squirrels. By 2009, greys had spread up both the Dee and Don rivers and almost completely replaced reds in Aberdeen. Removing grey squirrels creates safe areas for red squirrels to survive.

SSRS has been working with support from Aberdeen City Council, volunteers and residents across the city to remove the invasive grey squirrels. Thanks to the efforts of the project, red squirrels are now being seen all across the North East, and have returned to many gardens in the city.

In 2024, a total of six grey squirrels were caught, and with only one being caught so far this year, this suggests the work of SSRS has been hugely successful and there are very few grey squirrels left. Individual greys have been spotted recently in Kincorth and Rubislaw Den. SSRS is responding to the latest sightings to protect reds, which are the only native species of squirrel in Scotland.

The work of SSRS is giving red squirrels the opportunity to bounce back, and once again thrive in the Granite City. Aberdeen can be declared officially grey squirrel-free after two years with no record of breeding grey squirrels.

James Kennedy, Eradication Operations Lead for SSRS, said: “It’s brilliant to have seen such a turnaround for red squirrels in Aberdeen in recent decades. We currently have 44 volunteers involved with the project in Aberdeen, and many residents have got on board with the project and given us access to their gardens, which really assists our progress. It’s fantastic to have so much support from the local community for our reds. We encourage members of the public to continue submitting their sightings of red and grey squirrels to the SSRS Hub.”

An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “We are delighted to have played a part in the continued success of red squirrels in Aberdeen and the North East.

“It is important to continue planting native species of trees and plants which helps to create good habitats for the reds as well as educating people about the importance of why these conservation efforts are crucial.

“We will continue to work with the Scottish Wildlife Trust and partners.”

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot.

To find out more, visit the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels website.