The Bund Naturschutz has recorded almost 300 squirrels in the Weilheim-Schongau district since spring 2020.
Another evaluation is planned for 2023.
support is needed.
County – Squirrels are among the most popular residents of home gardens and green spaces.
The sight of the bushy rodents is not only exciting for curious children's eyes.
The Bund Naturschutz (BN) is taking advantage of this positive attitude towards squirrels and has been running a project dedicated to collecting data on the small mammals since spring 2020.
Although many people take great pleasure in the animals, "surprisingly little is known about how and where exactly squirrels live in Bavaria and how their population is developing".
This is exactly what you want to change with the help of the population, according to the association.
Using an app or directly on the website of the Bund Naturschutz, citizens can transmit valuable information that helps to control the animal population.
In the Weilheim-Schongau district, 275 specimens were already reported in the period from April 2020 to August 2021.
Compared with the figures from other counties, this already suggests that the project is well received in the region.
(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.)
This should be reported in connection with squirrels to the Bund Naturschutz
The BN points out that when observing, it should be noted which activity the respective animal or group of animals is doing.
It is also of particular interest whether they are climbing, eating or chasing each other in a playful way.
Dead animals should also not be omitted from the statistics.
The association hopes to be able to make a prognosis on the spread in the future.
The BN has rated the results so far as "a good insight into the life of the climbing artists", but explains that only long-term observation of the animals allows a meaningful prognosis.
"The more we learn about our squirrels, the better we can protect the animals," emphasizes Martina Gehret from the Bund Naturschutz.
However, the long-term goal is not just to check the inventory.
Geographical distribution also plays a major role, as does the question of preferences when choosing a suitable habitat.
Understand the different coat colors of squirrels
Another interesting topic is the different coat colors.
The project is also intended to find out whether the color of the squirrel is mainly related to the respective distribution area or whether it is more related to a short-term adaptation to the current location and thus serves as camouflage.
However, it is already noticeable that many citizens in southern Bavaria, and thus also in the district, report dark brown or black squirrels.
According to BN, the widespread, dark coniferous forests or the deep brown bark color of the trees could play a role.
In areas with more deciduous forest and lighter trunks, on the other hand, specimens with the typical rust-red coloring would be sighted more frequently.
The association estimates the danger that the growing spread of the American gray squirrel could be fatal for the native rodents to be low, at least for the moment.
So far, no observations of the close relatives of our native squirrels in Germany are known.
The BN advises paying particular attention to the head of the fluffy fellows and notes that "a gray squirrel (due to the wide range of coat colors) is far from being a gray squirrel".
The characteristic brush ears are a clear distinguishing feature, since the often virus-heavy intruder from overseas does not have them, according to the association.
Human influence on squirrels
As with many other current topics, the steadily increasing influence of humans must also be addressed with regard to the population of squirrels.
Human interference with rodent territories represents a clear intrusion into the animals' natural habitat, which is why the behavior of squirrels in the countryside, in particular, compared to their urban counterparts, promises some meaningful information, Gehret said.
The next evaluation of the data from the population is scheduled for 2023.
Until then, the Bund Naturschutz is still hoping for the extensive support of the citizens so that the continued existence of the native rodents can be secured in the future and appeals: "Report every single squirrel, because every report is important."
Report squirrels
This is possible both on the website of the association www.bund-naturschutz.de and with the app "Squirrels in Bavaria".
by Florian Zerhoch
You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.