Date Time
Baby red squirrels born on Ballykinler Training Area
Red squirrels have struggled to populate in Northern Ireland due to grey squirrels forcing them out of their home territory. In April 2015, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was approached by Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Belfast Zoo and Northern Ireland Squirrel Forum (NISF) to support the re-introduction of red squirrels through a special breeding programme.
Ballykinler Training Area was used as there are no grey squirrels or pine martens on site allowing the red squirrels to safely acclimatise to the outside world and develop survival skills before widening their horizons into other forests across Northern Ireland. Staff at DIO set up a nursery area, feeding and water stations, nesting boxes and cameras to monitor the squirrels.