NOTES ON THE MAMMALS OF ESSEX
183
Dormouse: Muscardinus avellanarius (Linnaeus).
This species was formerly common in Essex, although there
are few recent records. As early as 1937 it was thought by Gt.
Dent to be extinct in the Parndon area, although still common
around Epping. It still occurred in Epping Forest in 1943, al-
though there are no recent records. It is reported from Stock,
circa 1958 (C. E. Owen), and from Stow Wood, Wrabness, circa
1959 (H. McSweeney). A winter nest was found at Margaretting in
December 1960, and one in January 1961, in the same area. Apart
from these, there are no recent records for the county and the
species now seems rare in Essex.
Fat Dormouse: Glis glis (Linnaeus).
No reliable records of this creature are available and it does
not seem to have extended its range to Essex (H. V. Thompson,
in litt.).
Red Squirrel: Sciurus vulgaris leucourus Kerr.
This species was once so common in Essex that Laver (1898)
was led to write of it ". . . so well known that very little need
be said about it. It occurs in all parts of the county where suit-
able spots (that is woods) are to be found". The creature was
recorded from various parts of the county until, in 1947, Dent
noted that "Reds up till then numerous, disappeared totally with-
in a year", when he was writing of the arrival of the Grey Squirrel
at Parndon. The Red Squirrel was formerly commonly seen in
gardens at Piercing Hill, Theydon Bois, but none has been seen
since about 1957. It was said to be fairly well distributed on
Lingwood Common in 1957 where it had been scarce. Red
Squirrels were also seen in two parts of Epping Forest in 1957.
The most recent record from this area is of one seen by the road-
side near Connaught Water, Epping Forest, in 1959. It is holding
out in the north east of the county, it appears. The former habi-
tats of the Red Squirrel are now often occupied by the Grey
Squirrel, although whether the decline of the former is due to
direct competition would be difficult to say. Information on the
Red Squirrel is urgently needed.
Grey Squirrel: Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin.
The first report of this animal from Essex was made in 1921,
when one was seen at Gaynes Park, Epping, followed by reports
in 1923 from Loughton and Chingford. By 1935, Grey Squirrels
were well established in Epping Forest, and they managed to
survive a vigorous campaign, in which at least 150 were killed in
the first year. Expansion eastwards was delayed for some un-
explained reason until the end of the 1939-45 war, when they
appeared east of the Roding valley, in the Ilford, Romford,
Havering area. Further dispersal from here was rapid. The
species first reached the area of Little Parndon in 1947, and by
1950 they were reported from as far east as Wickham Bishops
and Woodham Mortimer (north and south of Maldon respectively).