Pallas's Squirrel – Callosciurus erythraeus

The original range of Pallas’s squirrel includes central and southern China, Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, eastern Cambodia up to the Malaysian Peninsula, and Taiwan. The species has been introduced not only in Europe but also in Argentina (in the 1970s), Japan (in 1935) and Hong Kong (in the 1960s and 1970s).

Pallas’s squirrel was originally introduced to Europe for ornamental purposes in gardens, zoos and as companion animals in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, the species is naturalised in Antibes and Rhone in France, where the estimated population size is a few thousand individuals. Established, albeit small populations are present not only in France but also in Weert in the Netherlands (since 1998) and in Brezzo di Bedero in Italy. However, the individuals found in Italy have not been verifiably identified. In all of these areas, control programmes are underway or planned. The population found in the wild in Belgium in 2005 was successfully eradicated in 2011. So far, one population of 50-110 individuals is known in the Netherlands, but the species is thought to have spread into neighbouring areas.

The species has also been for sale as companion animals in e.g. Denmark and Sweden.In some populations, Pallas’s squirrels have clearly expanded their range over the years. In Antibes, dispersion has been hindered by a motorway, for example. Pallas’s squirrels have been found to spread efficiently and reach fairly high population densities of 5–10 individuals per hectare.

Since the populations closest to Finland are small and mainly located in Central Europe, they are unlikely to spread to our country unaided. Pallas’s squirrels are unlikely to survive in the Finnish climate, although their natural range even includes subalpine coniferous forests.