{"id":9825,"date":"2013-11-05T15:21:51","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T15:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=9825"},"modified":"2013-11-05T15:21:51","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T15:21:51","slug":"hope-for-squirrels-as-red-survives-pox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/hope-for-squirrels-as-red-survives-pox\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope for squirrels as red survives pox"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tufty\"<\/a>New scientific research is giving hope to the future of endangered red squirrels after one animal survived the normally fatal squirrel pox.<\/p>\n

Scientists working at the University of Liverpool discovered that an adult native red squirrel that contracted the parapox virus was able to fight off the disease and survive. Research is ongoing to see if this holds the key to reds being able to gain immunity to the disease which has decimated red squirrel populations in southern Scotland and northern England.<\/p>\n

Rachel Miller, Red Squirrel field officer at the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire and North Merseyside, told the Liverpool Echo that, \u201cThe research found that one red squirrel definitely survived the pox and it was released back into Ainsdale where it was originally found.\u00a0We supplied the data to the university to be included in the research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be a few years down the line until we know for sure if red squirrels have any long-term immunity or not, as there is much more research that needs to be done. But this squirrel survived the pox, which is great news.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe named him Clark because he\u2019s a super squirrel. We don\u2019t know why he survived, but something made him resistant to the pox. We radio-tracked him after his release so we could check on his progress back in the wild and he did well.\u00a0We even recaptured him a couple of times with a female squirrel we called Lois. She has had a number of kittens this year.<\/p>\n

The research also found that some squirrels had developed antibodies to the pox virus, which suggest that they encountered the pox and then survived it, but we still don\u2019t know whether this means they are now immune to the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New scientific research is giving hope to the future of endangered red squirrels after one animal survived the normally fatal squirrel pox. Scientists working at the University of Liverpool discovered that an adult native red squirrel that contracted the parapox virus was able to fight off the disease and survive. Research is ongoing to see if this holds the key to reds being able to gain immunity to the disease which has decimated red squirrel populations in southern Scotland and northern England. Rachel Miller, Red Squirrel field officer at the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire and North Merseyside, told the Liverpool…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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