The BBC reports a rodent-eating predator seems an unlikely hero for the red squirrel. But conservationists in Wales are being encouraged by news the native pine marten may be helping their cause. Research from Queen’s University in Belfast suggests that numbers of red squirrels are on the increase in areas where pine martens also live. The reason given is that pine martens prey on grey squirrels far more than they do on red squirrels.

Red squirrel photo by Mrs Airwolfhound under creative commons.