A British History of: Squirrels (4K Documentary) (CC)

Рет қаралды 2,445

Күн бұрын

Red Squirrels are not only native to the British Isles, but are an integral cog in our dynamic ecosystem. In the Victorian era, invasive Grey Squirrels were imported from the USA and, ever since, we have been on the precipice of Red Squirrel extinction.
*disclaimer (contains graphic imagine of wild animal shooting)
This film dives into the nuances and history of the two cousin species, and the possible solutions to the problem of overpopulation. As always, this piece ultimately centres about the importance of wild native species reintroduction of Bears, Wolves, Lynx, Goshawks and Pine Martens - all of which can not only solve all of our problems, but who have a fundamental ethical right to life on the island of Great Britain.
Thank you so much to the contributors.
Those who shot and donated footage are credited, but also written in the following text:
Karin Koopman
, @TomKro85
, Sarah Cooper,
Louis Sinon
, Jon Davies,
Martin Legge,
Ben Blackford,
Martin Dodd
, Terje Kolaas, Isle Of Skye Nature and Scenery (whose wonderful website for Pine Marten related gifts can be found here - zazzle.co.uk/collections/pine_marten_of_scotland_gift_ideas-119064359683114955?rf=238661433930500159&tc=mov)
Big thank you to Jackie Foott and Helen Butler MBE for the fantastic interviews.
All of my data, facts, and statements are referenced to the sources, in real time, in the top left corner of the screen. If anything is said in the film, and you'd like to find out more, or simply to locate the original source, it's all there for you. Here is a list of all authors and NGOs who I cited. Thank you to all who have dedicated their lives and careers to sustainable and credible research - you have all been such a help.
Royal Forestry Society,
Helen Butler MBE,
Fiona Mathews,
Tim Kendall
, George Monbiot
, Dr Richard Preece
, Dr Sophie-Berenice Wilmes
, Dr Sophie Ward
, Katsuto Uehara
, Betsy Mason, Timothy Dale,
Michael Begon,
Andy Fenton,
David Jones
, Patrick Barkham,
Great British Food
, Helen Briggs,
Rewilding Britain,
EP Toyne, WWF
, Monica Shorten
, Wildlife Online
, Grey Squirrel Control,
Grand Forks Herald,
Aljos Farjon,
James Aldred
, Wight Squirrel Project
, The BBC
, Julian Chantrey, Jennifer Haase
, The Big Cat Sanctuary, Catherine Smalley
, Forestry Commission,
Anna Field,
Derek Yalden,
Arabella Umberto
, The Wildlife Trusts
, British Trust For Ornithology.
0:00 - Intro
0:48 - History of Reds
2:25 - History of Greys
8:13 - Woodland Damage
11:19 - Competition
12:54 - Squirrelpox Disease
14:22 - Culling
17:37 - Eating
19:03 - Contraception
21:00 - Predator Reintroduction
26:43 - Outro

Пікірлер: 27

@alanyoung2308 5 ай бұрын

A brilliant piece of work. This should be shown on mainstream TV to inform and educate those who are simply prejudiced against the culling or controlling of any creature they merely see as cute and fluffy, and those who have little understanding of how ecology actually works.

@stephendean1906 4 ай бұрын

Brilliant film .Should broadcast mainstream as far too many people still think greys are cute and cuddly .Well done all involved .

@brendananderson3701 5 ай бұрын

Thank you Craig for this video very good work Greys also carry Adenovirus which is a bigger killer than the pox it not only kills the Reds it kills all the mice as well when they move into a new wood so they could be responsible for the lose of the Dormouse and a lot more besides When the greys came onto an estate in the north east of England we lost all of the Adders at the same time possible due to mice being killed or even predation can not be ruled out Maybe another video to be done lol Regards Brendan Anderson from the UK and Ireland squirrel the Grey area group

@jfhunter1411 5 ай бұрын

Very interesting and informative film, thankyou for all of your efforts in putting this together. Let’s hope it makes it out far and wide and will change the minds of some who are against us doing what we do to remove the greys at great cost to ourselves as volunteers in both time and money.

@RCT_PestControl 5 ай бұрын

Fantastic video, informative, well presented and produced 👏👍

@jonxdavies 5 ай бұрын

Here we go, another episode of A British History! So excited to watch 🎉❤

@danielwhite4078 4 ай бұрын

Great video mate, with talk of wildcat reintroduction in Wales and south-west England it would’ve also been interesting to consider how these predators would impact grey squirrel populations in these areas. Again though, great video 👍🏻

@em12296 5 ай бұрын

Wow thanks for making this. Really important

@georgewestel8250 4 ай бұрын

Excellent. Hopefully, this will dpur greater efforts at restoring and protecting the habitat of native predators such as Gowshawks, Pinemartins, and wolves. I have never tried squirrel meat, perhaps I might...

@EnglishLionsMedia 5 ай бұрын

Great work 🐿

@JUSTJAMIE82 Ай бұрын

The gray menace taste nice 👍🏻

@phillkirby 5 ай бұрын

Excellent really informative looks like the squirrel ate your mic lol welldone on this production 😀

@frazerweb 5 ай бұрын

Wow I see red squirrels in my garden in Formby, some one said they're rare to see.

@RobboElRobbo 3 ай бұрын

grey squirrels have completely taken over vancouver island, too :(

@joefearon1356 5 ай бұрын

I really enjoyed it and so did my girlfriend. Thank you

@NintenDan.2005 2 ай бұрын

Red Squirrels will return. Have hope.

@mikeheasman2594 5 ай бұрын

The British number one oak tree planter in Britain is the jay. Currently Britain has old oaks and young oaks but very few over 10 to 20 years old.

@adamdesalle6338 5 ай бұрын

Very interesting doc - makes you wonder, is it right to interfere with natural selection? The Greys are naturally better adapted to their environment than the Reds, and yet we don’t want the Reds to go extinct. What benefits, I wonder, do we get from the Reds? Why do we preserve them rather than let them die out? And is it ethical to cull the population of a predator to preserve their prey? Loads of interesting questions raised here Craig, great job!

@wildcamcraig 5 ай бұрын

These are the exact ethical questions I had, but many people don't think this long term and big picture. It's all thrown off by the fact that we redistributed these species all over the world. So, naturally, natural selection did take place and reached a level of semi-stasis, but then we restarted the whole process all over again by translocating

@adamdesalle6338 5 ай бұрын

Yeah we did interfere already I suppose

@Brian5450 5 ай бұрын

Greys aren't a predator on Reds , Reds are the victim of the disease that Greys carry, its an important point. Greys are a Non Native Species, that is ok, the problem is that they are not just Non Native but Invasive Non Native a subtle but important difference.

@airhunteruk 4 ай бұрын

It is possible for them to carry mad cow disease too and if consumed not cooked properly, well let's just say it's a short life !

@Fisheruk100 5 ай бұрын

It’s factually incorrect. He says that grey squirrels ignore hazelnuts WRONG They love them. They strip Cobnut plantations. They eat hazelnuts before they are ripe. In Red Squirrel areas the hazelnut trees are stripped of fruit before they are ripe enough for the Red Squirrels to eat!

@wildcamcraig 5 ай бұрын

I meant they are ignored in terms of planting, not eating. Additionally I said that Grey Squirrels "strip the bark of the hazel before the tree and the nuts are even ripe"

@jeffers-7525 5 ай бұрын

Although while i remain against the release and reintroduction of the Pine martin, i found your doocumentry informative and eye-opening. I don't feel like there is enough positive evidence that Pine martins wont quickly repopulate and effect biodiversity in the UK. Although Pine martins are not an invasive species like their close cousens Mink. There were valid reasons why they were hunted to near extinction like many other predators in our uk woodlands. I believe more research in the reasoning to why they were hunted in the first instance needs to be shown some light so we can better understand the consequences of their reintroduction on other species. Thank you for taking the time to create this short film, and i hope to see more.👏👏👏👏👏

@Steve-Cross 4 ай бұрын

A great piece of work. Definitely food for thought, for the snowflakes that think grey squirrels are cute and part of our countryside. They are not. They are an invasive species, that are killing off, our native Red Squirrels, and songbird populations. The only real way of controlling them, is by culling them. I know this might sound barbaric, but we have some terrific air guns, that in the right hands, can dispatch these pests instantaneously and humanely. The squirrel doesn’t know anything, it is just lights out. You have to know what you’re doing, and can place a shot perfectly, as not to wound the animal. I don’t suggest just anyone with an air rifle should go into the woods, unless you are an extremely experienced shot, or a good competition shooter, in a discipline like HFT, or FT shooting.