Red squirrel boards Scottish cruise boat

Those cruising on Loch Riddon got more they bargained for during their 6 night stay, a sneaky wee stowaway in the form of a red squirrel. The uninvited guest joined the cruise whilst their vessel was anchored for the night in a secluded bay on the Argyll Coastline.

Although red squirrels are common on the Cowal peninsula, there is a mystery as to how this one came to join the cruise. Martin McWhirr, the skipper of the Glen Massan boat has two theories. He said: “Sunday night was relatively windy which may have resulted in the squirrel being blown from its tree overhanging the water with it then swimming to the boat and shinning up the anchor chain.



“The other possibility is that it had been caught by a large bird of prey, possibly even a sea eagle which then lost its prey with it landing aboard. I can’t see any other possibilities”. However Jan Ferguson, Chairman of the Cowal Squirrel Group has another opinion. She said:

“The most likely scenario is that he got involved in a fight with another red, probably over territory. If there was nowhere for him to run, he could have jumped into the loch and as squirrels are good swimmers, he could have swam to the boat and climbed up the anchor chain”. However she doesn’t dismiss Martin’s view. She continued: “it is very possible he was scared by a bird of prey or even a cat or dog, leading him to jump into the water”.