Sighting of second albino squirrel in Rugby

A SECOND albino squirrel is living in the area.

Another of the rare creatures has regularly been seen in back gardens of houses in the edge of Dunchurch near to Sainsbury's store.

Graham Cox told us he had watched over several months as it mixed happily with grey squirrels and had spent several weeks trying to get a photograph after we reported a sighting at Draycote Water in October,

There are thought to be just 50 in the country at any one time with the one at Draycote seen as recently as two weeks ago despite being given little chance of long term survival.

Mr Cox said: "We have a lovely albino visit everyday, sometimes more than once a day for the past year.

"Our house backs onto a wheat field and he's quite happily hopping around there, and in and out of several back gardens in this area.

"It's quite fantastic to see. Over the last three months I had tried to get a photo of it. However, the week before Christmas I managed to get two through the blinds in my conservatory. He really is a fantastic sight."

Estimations of the grey squirrel population in the UK vary from between 2.5million for five million and only one in 100,000 are said to be born albino.

And many do not last long largely due to their lack of camouflage which makes them easy pickings for predators.

There have been several sightings in Surrey in recent years, but The Observer could find no records of one being seen before in Warwickshire.

The one at Draycote is also being monitored by Severn Trent Water rangers and the Rugby group of Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

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