Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

Now considered to be extinct in Suffolk.

The Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is Britain's only native squirrel and was once widespread across Suffolk, but the species has been absent from the county as a wild population for several decades, displaced by the introduced Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Red squirrels now survive in Britain only in parts of northern England and Scotland, and in a small number of island refuges. Suffolk currently has no established wild population, and any apparent sighting in the county is most likely to involve an escaped or released individual. The county’s woodland habitats nonetheless form part of longer-term conversations about the species’ future in East Anglia. Image: © bertl314, iNaturalist.

Find out more: The Mammal Society, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist