Red
squirrel
worldwide
distribution
Red squirrels are found across much of the Palaearctic from the British Isles in the west, south to the Mediterranean, and in the Caucasus, where they were introduced, through to the southern Urals and Altai mountains in Russia in the North to central Mongolia and northeast China. They are also found on Sakhalin Island off the coast of Russia and the most northerly Japanese island of Hokkaido. (Mitchell-Jones, et al. 1999)
Map of European red squirrel distribution. Red squirrels should be as widespread in the UK as they are in neighbouring countries in Europe © Societas Europaea Mammalogica 2004. (Compare to the grey squirrel distribution in News and Events.)
European Habitat
Red squirrels occupy boreal, coniferous woods in northern Europe and Siberia, preferring Scots pine, Norway spruce and Siberian pine. In western and southern Europe where they are found in broad-leaved woods where the mixture of tree and shrub species, such as hazel, provide a better year round source of food (Gurnell, 1987). However in the UK and Italy, countries where the grey squirrel has been introduced, broad-leaved woodlands are less suitable due to due to the better competitive feeding strategy of the greys. Grey squirrels are also a potential host to the disease, squirrel poxvirus which is normally fatal in reds. See Research and reports section for more information.
The red squirrel is also a common visitor to parks and gardens in Europe occurring from sea level up to 2200m, the tree line in the Alps. Population density varies geographically and also shows large annual fluctuations in response to tree seed crop availability. Densities can vary from 0.5 to 1.5 individuals per hectare. A series of years with poor seed crops may lead to a population decline. (Mitchell-Jones et al. 1999)