UK sanctuary asked to take in squirrel Elvis
A UK sanctuary has been contacted to be asked to take on Elvis the squirrel, if he is caught.
The stowaway grey squirrel arrived in Guernsey last Monday, appearing from the back of a lorry carrying animal feed.
He then took up residence in a tree outside car dealership Bluchip in St Sampson’s, who christened him Elvis because of his sudden rise to fame.
News of the island’s newest resident has even made it to national media with articles in the Metro and The i newspapers and a mention by DJ Greg James on Radio 1.
However, the squirrel has not been seen since Friday and may have moved to a more wooded area nearby.
Ania Allum, who runs Hitchin Squirrel Rescue in Hertfordshire with her husband Paul, said the phone call from Guernsey States vet David Chamberlain late on Friday had come completely out of the blue.
‘We have said we would be prepared to take the squirrel so it doesn’t get euthanised, so we are awaiting an update on the situation,’ she said.
‘I did Google Guernsey and the squirrel after speaking to him. I knew Jersey had reds, but had no idea Guernsey had no squirrels at all.’
The couple currently care for 11 rescued squirrels, with most living outside in their garden in large aviaries.
They include Jason, the one-armed squirrel, who even has his own series of books available on Amazon, and Ronnie and Reggie, whose rescue as babies began the charity’s story.
In 2019, Mr Allum had been called out to help deal with a fallen tree through his job with the council, while waiting for a tree surgeon he discovered the two young ‘kittens’.
With no one providing care in the area, he had taken them home.
‘We have a couple of the older ones inside now, including Reggie who was one of the first we rescued,’ said Mrs Allum.
‘We don’t like them to become too tame as they are wild animals and we treat them as such, but some do get more friendly than others and will come and take a nut from your hand.’
Under Schedule 9 of the UK Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to release a grey squirrel into the wild or allow one to escape.
However, Mrs Allum said they were licensed by Natural England to both keep and transport grey squirrels.
She added that they had reached out to Natural England after the call from the States Vet to double check where they stood legally and were awaiting a response.
‘We have never taken one from this far afield before and from what is technically overseas,’ she said.
‘But we could provide a good home for him and it would be best for everyone, including Elvis, if he was captured soon, and this is especially true if Elvis actually turns out to be a pregnant female.’
More information can be found at www.hitchinsquirrelrescue.co.uk.
