# Does anyone know what has happened to the gray squirrel population? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424 "2009-09-24T22:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424/21 "2013-07-27T11:52:38Z")
If you ask me, your missing grey squirrels have all moved to Britain, to make life miserable for our islands’ original and proper inhabitants of the squirrel kind. Our native squirrel – the British sub-species of the Eurasian red squirrel, _Sciurus vulgaris_ – has been losing ground for well over a century, to the American grey squirrel, _Sciurus carolinensis_. Fairly late in the nineteenth century, well-meaning but foolish people introduced some American grey squirrels to the southern parts of England, thinking that they would make a pleasant addition to the country’s wildlife. Unfortunately, the American grey squirrel proved hardier and more adaptable than its British red counterpart; the introduced greys multiplied, and Darwinian selection came into play – they have in various ways out-competed the native red species, which between then and now has ongoingly dwindled in numbers, and its range has shrunk to areas – principally now far to the north and west of Great Britain – to which the grey squirrel has not yet spread. Almost-extinction for the red squirrel, is ultimately foreseen. Grey squirrels are IMO quite lovable; it’s just that I find the native red kind (which can be encountered, if you know where to go) nicer – and resent its ousting by the interlopers from across the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424/22 "2013-07-27T13:25:07Z")
We’ll take back the squirrels when you take back the starlings. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424/23 "2013-07-27T13:32:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who keeps misreading the title as “gay”? Well, if they’d all gone gay, that’d certainly explain the dip in population levels! ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424/24 "2013-07-27T16:22:43Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > We’ll take back the squirrels when you take back the starlings. ☹ Ah, yes, America’s starling scourge… if I’m right, you have to thank for that, the genius who wanted to introduce to America every species of bird mentioned by Shakespeare. Actually, starlings – like a number of other till recently ubiquitous and very common bird species – are becoming rather scarce in a good many parts of Britain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-has-happened-to-the-gray-squirrel-population/511424.md?page=1)