I was talking to a conservationist this week and they told me that an unexpected ally for the red squirrel has turned up in the shape of the Pine Marten. Apparently, in areas where the Pine Marten is now thriving (partly thanks to the implementation of new forestry management guidelines), the red squirrel is also thriving. It seems that the pine marten is partial to the occasional grey but is unable to catch the red (which feeds higher up and therefore out of range). As a consequence the red squirrel is beginning to expand its territory.

Has anyone else heard similar stories?

That's great news. Let's hope that the gamekeepers can keep their hands off the martens if they spread more widely.

Hadn't heard that before, but its great news. The Telegraph's web site (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jh...tin130.xml) confirms with the following;

Rob Coope, the Forestry Commission's Tayside region biodiversity manager, said: "Pine martens are opportunistic animals who will exploit any new food source that moves into their territory. "Grey squirrels are a big threat to red squirrels, but what we have noticed is that in areas where pine martens are active, grey numbers go down and they almost disappear.

"Their march up the country has been pretty relentless, but in these areas it had been halted.

"We tried to think of reasons for this happening, and the theory is that expanding pine marten populations come up against expanding grey squirrel populations. Colleagues in Ireland feel they have seen the same thing happening.

"We know that pine martens feed mainly on the ground and we know that greys spend more time on the ground than reds.

"Reds tend to be in the treetops eating seeds from pine cones, whereas greys will run around on the forest floor looking for acorns and beech nuts. That's when they come into contact with pine martens.

"So it may be that in areas that are poor habitats for grey squirrels, pine marten predation tips the balance in favour of the red."

That really is good news if it turns out to be correct, it would hopefully safeguard the red squirrel from complete extinction in Britain and then more work can be done on expanding the areas it now lives in.