Posted on 04/20/2009 12:18:27 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
A remote part of Wales is home to the last remaining colony of rare red squirrels, conservationists have discovered.
Since the introduction of the American grey squirrel in the 19th century, numbers of reds have declined after their colonies were forced to retreat.
But new evidence suggests that the red squirrels of the Tywi Valley in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales are among the purest left in Britain, thanks to a unique genetic code.
Dr Lizzie Wilberforce of The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales said: 'Visually they are no different to any other red squirrels.
'But their genotypes have never been found anywhere else - they have a Welsh red squirrel gene which tells us that they are unique and have remained isolated from other populations.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Patterwig! Patterwig! Patterwig!
Squirrels of Harlech, scamper to glory,
Victory is hov’ring o’er ye,
Bright-eyed freedom stands before ye,
Hear ye not her call?
And clearly, the rosy, furry guys were mascots when Henry Tudor won the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, ending the War of Roses and becoming the first Welsh King of England.
Somewhere on my DNA, I have a hazy memory of Welsh Red Squirrels on the battle flags. Don’t you?
It really is a red squirrel not a dragon.
I’m about as Welsh as they come. I have NO blood relatives with anything but O positive blood type, 3 out of 4 grandparents had Welsh surnames, one of them Powys (Powers). I had my DNA analyzed on one of those genetic heritage sites and both sides are loaded with markers that are common in Wales.
Very cute. Does anyone have a recipe?
O positive is a Welsh marker ?
AB negative here. But only half of my family is Welsh.
Not surprised you know about these cute little guys and hope you can see them soon again.
The highest concentration of O positive blood type in the world is behind Offa’s Dike.
Looks like the little ground squirrels in my yard. Anyone want to buy a rare red squirrel?
Release the hounds!
We have red squirrels here in MN. Also known as pine squirrels. Nasty little things. They chase off the grey and fox squirrels. They nest in our wood duck houses and eat their way into the lake cabins.
.22WMR birdshot does the trick.....
Does 0-neg count for anything? My dad’s grandparents came from the Rhondda valley in 1890 or so. But since the men were miners they could have moved there from anywhere to find work.
Where I grew up in central Indiana, red squirrels are called “boomers” and are pretty common. Next most common seems to be fox squirrels.
Now I live in northern Indiana and there are black squirrels and gray squirrels around here
Barbecue, smarmecue! I eats'm RAW!
Well there's the problem right there. Squirrels should be served well done.
Offa could build a dike, China could build a great wall, but the USA cannot build a similar structure on the Mexican border.
I know. Isn’t it awful? My idea is much less expensive. Lay an anti-personnel mine every 4 feet. That’s about 2.1 million at $5 each plus another $5 to plant them. 20 million bucks to build a barrier. $2 million per year for 5 years to maintain it.
Sooner or later they’ll stop trying.
Terrific idea. I’ll vote for it.
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