Jersey’s Red Squirrels Are Thriving Thanks to a Squirrel the Island Doesn’t Have

On Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, red squirrels have rope bridges to help them cross the road. They also have legal protection, a network of nature reserves and islanders who put out feeders for them.

That combination has turned the island into a stronghold for an animal in real trouble elsewhere. Red squirrels are endangered in the UK, and there is growing concern they could soon become extinct in England, BBC News reported in a feature published on October 20, 2026.²

What Jersey doesn’t have

The main reason Jersey’s reds are doing well, according to the BBC, is something the island lacks entirely: grey squirrels. Greys carry a virus that is deadly to red squirrels, and Jersey has none.²

The BBC calls Jersey’s population thriving. Its report is a portrait of island life for squirrels rather than a headcount, and it leans on local conservationists and animal carers to describe how things are going.²

Across the UK, the BBC puts the number of red squirrels left in the wild at about 120,000 to 160,000. Roughly 75% of them live in Scotland. England has a few strongholds, particularly on islands.²

Not native, but very much at home

Jersey’s red squirrels are not originals. They were introduced to the island in 1885.¹ Henry Glynn, an ecologist with the National Trust for Jersey, describes them as naturalized, meaning they have settled in and live wild on their own.²

The trust calls the island an important refuge for the species, where the squirrels are fairly widespread. They live in conifer and broadleaved woodland and often show up in gardens that have feeding stations. The trust says inland valleys and woodlands are the best places to spot one.¹

How islanders help

Local conservationists credit a mix of things: feeders put out by the public, nature reserves, rope bridges over roads and low speed limits.² Red squirrels are also legally protected on Jersey, so harming one is a criminal offense.²

“Their habitats are decreasing everywhere... but we do have quite a lot of nature reserves.”

That was Nina Powell, a senior animal carer at the JSPCA, speaking to the BBC. The JSPCA has handled 50 red squirrels so far this year, including hand-raising eight kits, or baby squirrels.²

A tourist attraction that lives in the garden

Red squirrels have featured in Visit Jersey tourism campaigns, including one fronted by Ben Fogle.²

“When you speak to people who have come over to visit the island from the UK, a lot of them will say that one of the things they want to do whilst here is to see a red squirrel, because they’re so rare and so difficult to see in large parts of the UK.”

Glynn said that to the BBC.² Visitors cross the sea hoping to glimpse one. On Jersey, Powell told the BBC, “you can see them almost anywhere.”²

The squirrels are popular with residents too. “They’re really beloved amongst the local community as well,” Glynn told the BBC.²