Look out for Halloween 'ghost' squirrel
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IMAGES of a pale and mysterious creature – more cute than scary – have emerged this Halloween.
A ghostly white red squirrel has been spotted flitting through north-east treetops.
Dr Gwen Maggs, conservation officer for the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) project, said: "We know it’s a red rather than a grey squirrel as photographs show it has the hairy ear tufts that are absent in greys.
"We will set up some remote cameras to try and get some better pictures with a clear view of its eyes. Then we can tell for certain if it’s an albino – true albinos have red eyes.
"In any event, this is a rare and exciting discovery.
"Dare I say it’s the icing on the cake of the success of our recovery project here in the north-east which has seen red squirrels returning to areas after a gap of more than 30 years."
Alex Stuart, co-ordinator of the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership (NESBiP), said: "Partly white animals, like sparrows, crows, blackbirds and even hedgehogs do appear from time to time, but these are not true albinos.
"Sightings like this really demonstrate the value of keeping your eyes and ears open. There are lots of other amazing wildlife to be seen and heard out there as well as white red squirrels."
People are encouraged to report their squirrel sightings to Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels at scottishsquirrels.org.uk.
