Katie Boyce chose…

Red squirrel

In Great Britain and Ireland, red squirrel numbers have decreased dramatically over the years, mainly due to the introduction of the grey squirrel from North America.  The reason for choosing the red squirrel as my object for the Herbert’s 50th is because it was once a common animal to find in the woodlands all over the UK. Sadly it is becoming increasingly endangered. Showing the red squirrel allows us to see its beauty and realise what we could stand to lose from our forests. Fortunately for the squirrel there are many interventions to try to prevent the species dying out across the whole of the country.

Katie Boyce is an intern with the exhibitions team at the Herbert

What the curator says:

Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) collected in 1999

The red squirrel is native to Britain and widespread across Europe. There are estimated to be 140,000 left in this country compared to 2.5 million greys. The red squirrel's colour varies from reddish-grey to black depending on the location, climate and time of year. The young, called kittens, develop teeth at between eight and twelve weeks old. They can live for five or six years in the wild and eat seeds, fungi, acorns, berries and bark.

The adults are threatened by disease carried by greys, as well as by large birds of prey and of course road traffic. Our example was knocked down in Cumbria and given to the Herbert by a Coventry resident on holiday.