Friday 28th February saw the arrival of our new male squirrel. After much organisation and paperwork, we were finally given the OK to have a new male here at the Arboretum and he would be coming to us from Paradise Park in St Ives in Cornwall. A few abortive attempts to meet in the middle with a member of staff from the Park later, and Ben set off for the long drive down to St Ives. A stationary M5 for over 3 hours didn’t help but eventually a travelling box was handed over and he was secured firmly in the car to come back up.
He arrived here on the Friday evening and was placed in our smaller pens inside the compound where he will be for a couple of weeks so we can make sure he is healthy, and he has got used to the smells and the Yorkshire accent. By Saturday morning he was happily running around the pen and Hazel and Holly were checking him out from the outside.
He is just under a year old and isn’t related to Holly or Hazel in any way. He seems reasonably used to people if a little wary at the moment but is making friends with the girls through the wire of the pen. The girls have even gone off their hazelnuts whilst they check him out. He will be in the pen for a couple of weeks and then he will be released into the main compound. We are hopefully that kits will follow but only time will tell.
He doesn’t have a name at the moment and a wide range has been suggested with Radagast and Poldark the more literary ideas. A short list of names will be drawn up and there will be the opportunity to vote for your favourite in a ballot in the visitor centre.
