The red squirrels of Llanddewi Brefi are unique – and that’s official!

Experts say that analysis of red squirrel hairs from one of the Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project’s feeding stations has revealed a unique DNA sequence.

Becky Hulme, of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, said the find was made following the inspection of a sticky pad beneath the lid of a popular feeder box located above Llanddewi Brefi.

“This feeder box contained seeds and nuts, food for red squirrels,” she said. “Last spring we had seen five red squirrels making good use of its contents, all of which was captured on our trail camera along with some cheeky mating behaviour.

“Luckily for us, the sticky pad provided us with a few hair samples from the reds, which we then sent away to undergo analysis of genetic haplotype, revealing the make-up and ancestry of an animal.

“Results from these hair samples in mid Wales revealed two different haplotypes. One was already known in Wales, but the other was unique and hasn’t been recorded anywhere before.

“This adds a fifth haplotype to the four already identified in the mid Wales red squirrel population.”

She added that the discovery meant that the red squirrels of mid Wales had a high level of genetic diversity.

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