Barbary ground squirrel captured in Playa Honda after travelling from Fuerteventura

A Barbary ground squirrel has been captured in Playa Honda after hitching a lift over from Fuerteventura.

The lone squirrel was reported to the Canarian Government’s Red EXOS department, which monitors exotic and invasive species. Red EXOS explained that the animal had apparently hidden in the bodywork of a hire car that was driven over from Fuerteventura by a pair of tourists.

The little squirrels are widespread on the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura, where tourists often mistakenly call them chipmunks. The population, estimated at hundreds of thousands, originated from a single pair that were freed on the island in 1960.

No other Canary Island has yet been affected by squirrels, which are classed as an invasive species and could damage local wildlife and crops.

The squirrel in Playa Honda was easily caught and is unharmed. It will be transferred to an “authorised zoological facility”.